Polar Polymeric Stationary Phases for Normal-Phase HPLC Based on Monodisperse Macroporous Poly(2,3-dihydroxypropyl methacrylate-<i>co</i>-ethylene dimethacrylate) Beads

The effect of variables such as shape template size, porogen composition and percentage, content of cross-linking monomer, and polymerization temperature on the properties of uniformly sized 3-microm porous poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads prepared by the staged templated suspension polymerization technique has been studied. The porous properties of the beads including surface morphology, pore size distribution, and specific surface area have been optimized to obtain highly efficient stationary phases for normal-phase HPLC. A column packed with diol stationary phase obtained by hydrolysis of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) beads affords an efficiency of 67,000 plates/m for toluene using THF as the mobile phase. The retention properties and selectivity of the diol beads are easily modulated by changes in the composition of the mobile phase. The performance of these beads is demonstrated with the separations of a variety of polar compounds including positional isomers, aniline derivatives, and basic tricyclic antidepressant drugs.