Polymeric porogens used in the preparation of novel monodispersed macroporous polymeric separation media for high-performance liquid chromatography

A novel approach to monosized macroporous polymeric separation media with vastly enhanced pore size distributions and chromatographic properties has been developed. Key to this approach is the combined use of monodispersed polymeric particles and suitable solvents as porogens in the copolymerization of styrene and divinylbenzene. Following polymerization, the polymeric porogen is dissolved, leaving behind the monosized beads with a controlled pore structure. The exact pore size and pore size distribution of the final beads are largely controlled by the amount of soluble polymer in the polymerizing mixture: the larger the proportion of soluble polymer in the system, the larger the pores. The uniformly sized macroporous beads prepared with an optimized ratio of polymeric and low molecular weight porogens proved to be very efficient even in short columns for the separation of polystyrene standards in the SEC mode and the separation of proteins in the reversed-phase mode. The relationship between pore size and specific surface area, on one hand, and chromatographic properties of the stationary phase, on the other, have been clearly documented.