Non-ionic Surface Active Agents as Additives toward a Universal Porogen System for Porous Polymer Monoliths

The influence of the addition of various non-ionic surfactants to poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate-based monolith formulations was studied. Eight non-ionic surfactants having different chemistries were chosen for this study. These surfactants were Brij L4, Span 80, IGEPAL CO-520, Tergitol 15S9, 2,4,7,9-tetramethyl-5-decyne-4,7-diol ethoxylate, Tween 40, Triton X-405, and Tetronic 701. The chemical structures of these surfactants have a variety of functional groups and cover a wide range of molecular weights (360-3600 g/mol), viscosities (60-1500 cP), and hydrophilic-lipophilic balances (1.0-17.6). The formed polymers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, surface area measurement by the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller method, elemental analysis, and Fourier transform infrared. Four formulations, involving the use of surfactants, resulted in permeable materials when prepared in 150 μm ID silica capillaries. The chromatographic performance of the resulting columns in reversed-phase mode was evaluated and compared using a mixture of alkyl benzenes as test analytes. The highest efficiency and methylene selectivity were observed when Tween 40 was included in the formulation, using decane/decanol/dodecanol as coporogens. This porogenic mixture was successfully used for preparation of monolithic columns from a selection of methacrylate- and styrene-based monomers, including butylmethacrylate, hydroxyethymethacrylate, laurylmethacrylate, glycidyl methacrylate, bisphenol diacrylate, benzylmethacrylate, and N,N-dimethylacrylamide, as well as for divinylbenzene. These results show the applicability of this porogenic mixture for a variety of monolithic formulations, providing an approach for developing a universal porogen system.