3D printed titanium micro-bore columns containing polymer monoliths for reversed-phase liquid chromatography

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Chromatography

Background:

• Titanium alloys offer excellent thermal and mechanical stability for chromatographic applications.
• Selective laser melting (SLM) enables complex 3D structures, including microfluidic channels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the use of 3D SLM for fabricating titanium alloy chromatographic columns.
• To develop and evaluate a monolithic stationary phase within these columns for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a micro bore channel (0.9 mm I.D. × 600 mm) in Ti-6Al-4V alloy using 3D SLM.
• Thermal polymerization of a poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate) (BuMA-co-EDMA) monolithic stationary phase within the channel.
• Application of isothermal and thermal gradient (Peltier-based) conditions for chromatographic separations.

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of a stable titanium alloy monolithic chromatographic column.
• Achieved peak capacities of 69-76 for protein separation at 44 °C.
• Enhanced peak capacities (73-77) using a programmed temperature gradient (60 °C to 35 °C).
• Separated E.coli peptides in under 35 minutes with approximately 40 distinguishable peaks.

Conclusions:

• 3D SLM is a viable technology for producing robust titanium alloy chromatographic columns.
• Monolithic columns fabricated using this method demonstrate high performance for protein and peptide analysis.
• Rapid temperature programming significantly improves chromatographic separation efficiency.