Design of the monolithic polymers used in capillary electrochromatography columns

Monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) are receiving quite remarkable attention. Both the simplicity of the in situ preparation and the large number of readily available chemistries make the monolithic separation media a vital alternative to capillary columns packed with particulate materials. This review summarizes the current state-of-the-art in this rapidly growing area of CEC with a focus on monolithic capillary columns prepared from synthetic polymers. Recent achievements in column technologies for both high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary electrophoresis are used as the starting point to highlight the influence of these well established analytical methods on the development of monolithic capillary columns for CEC. The effects of individual variables on the separation properties of monolithic capillaries are discussed in detail. The analytical potential of these columns is demonstrated with separations involving various families of compounds in different chromatographic modes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.