Fast HPLC with a silica-based monolithic ODS column

Fast high-performance liquid chromatography is becoming routine in laboratories that require high throughput or for combinatorial libraries. Reduced analysis time is commonly achieved by using shorter columns and higher flow rates. Shorter columns require smaller particles in order to maintain efficiency. However, smaller particles increase backpressure, which limits both column length and higher flow rates for typical LC pumps. This disadvantage has been addressed by the emergence of monolithic liquid chromatographic columns (1). Unlike particle-base columns, monolithic columns consist of a continuous rod-shaped porous network with a bimodal pore distribution. In this study, a commercially available 50- x 4.6-mm silica-based octadecyl silane monolithic column (Chromolith SpeedROD RP18e, EM Science, Gibbstown, NJ) was used to separate a seven-component test mixture with a wide range of polarity. The primary goals of this investigation were: (a) to study the chemistry (selectivity) of the new silica-based monolithic columns and (b) to study their run-to-run and column-to-column performance (retention times and peak areas). The selectivity (alpha factor) is a ratio of partition coefficients and, if comparable for a variety of solutes, would mean that methods could be readily transferred between particulate and monolithic columns.