Macroporous Photopolymer Frits for Capillary Electrochromatography

Abstract
Macroporous polymer frits have been fabricated in fused-silica capillaries by the UV photopolymerization of a solution of glycidyl methacrylate and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate. This in situ preparation is a simple, rapid, and reproducible process. The frit can be placed at any desired position along the column. Photopolymer frits can withstand the short exposure to a high pressure (over 6000 psi). Bubble formation is not observed to occur with these frits under our experimental conditions. By choice of porogens, it is possible to control the porous properties. The use of such frits in capillaries to retain particles of chromatographic packing has been demonstrated to be stable and robust with continuous operation over 3 days.