Multicapillary column for chromatography and sample preparation
View Patent ↗A multicapillary column especially useful for liquid chromatography and sample preparation comprising a plurality of uniform capillaries coated with an insoluble stationary phase, wherein the thickness of the stationary phase is correlated with the radius of the individual capillaries for high efficiency.
1. A multicapillary column, especially useful for liquid chromatography and sample preparation applications, comprising:
(a) a plurality of capillary tubes contained within a column for receiving a sample at a first end of the column and discharging a separated sample at a second end of the column;
(b) an insoluble stationary phase being coated directly on interior surfaces of said capillary tubes; said stationary phase coating comprising a thickness that is correlated with the radius of individual capillary tubes for achieving high efficiency capillary tubes by applying a greater amount of stationary phase on wider capillary tubes and a lesser amount of stationary phase on narrower capillary tubes to enhance uniformity of said capillary tubes; and
wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating contains an organic group R, where R is an aliphatic, aromatic, organoelement, or ionogenic group.
2. The column of claim 1 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating is insoluble in organic and water-organic solvents.
3. The column of claim 1 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating is cross-linked.
4. The column of claim 3 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating comprises polybutadiene.
5. The column of claim 1 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating is chemically bonded to the interior of said capillary tubes.
6. The column of claim 1 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating is cross-linked and chemically bonded to the interior of said capillary tubes.
7. The column of claim 6 wherein the insoluble stationary phase coating comprises polybutadiene.
8. The column of claim 1 wherein the thickness of the insoluble stationary phase coating is proportional to the capillary radius in power n, where n is greater than 1.
9. The column of claim 1 wherein the following relationship holds:
d f ( r )= c f ·r n
where d f =insoluble stationary phase thickness; c f =constant; r=capillary radius; and n>1.
10. The column of claim 1 wherein said aliphatic group comprises methyl, butyl, octyl, octadecyl, diol, cyano, amino, amide, or glycido.
11. The column of claim 1 wherein said aromatic group comprises phenyl, linear polystyrene, or cross-linked polystyrene.
12. The column of claim 1 wherein said organoelement group comprises linear or cross-linked polysiloxane.
13. The column of claim 1 wherein said ionogenic group comprises trialkylorganylammonium, carboxyl, or organylsulfonic acid.
14. The column of claim 1 wherein the inner diameter of said capillary tubes is about 0.1 μm to about 100 μm.
15. The column of claim 1 wherein the outer diameter of the column is about 0.1 mm to about 1 m.
16. The column of claim 1 wherein the length of the column is about 0.1 mm to about 2 m.
17. The multicapillary column of claim 1 wherein the column is formed of fused silica.
18. The multicapillary column of claim 1 wherein the column is formed of glass.