Molded continuous poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) rod as a separation medium for the very fast separation of polymers. Comparison of the chromatographic properties of the monolithic rod with columns packed with porous and non-porous beads in high-performance liquid chromatography of polystyrenes

Nanostructured porous polymer monolithic columns for capillary liquid chromatography of peptides

The macroporous structure of poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) monolithic capillary columns has been optimized for the gradient separation of peptides. To exploit monolithic supports with porosity exceeding 70%, the thermodynamic properties of the polymerization mixture were carefully tailored to yield homogeneous monolithic materials featuring macropore and polymer microglobule sizes in the range of 50–200 nm. The effects of (i) initiator content, (ii) composition of porogenic mixture, comprising tetrahydrofuran and 1-decanol, (iii) percentage of divinylbenzene crosslinker, and (iv) monomers to porogen ratio on the morphology was investigated. The resulting column structures were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and the prepared monolithic columns were tested for the separation of a tryptic digest of cytochrome c while applying a fixed flow rate and gradient time. To obtain a better understanding of the effects of macropore and microglobule size, and structure homogeneity on the separation performance in gradient elution, both in terms of peak capacity and gradient plate height, separations were also carried out at different flow rates while maintaining a constant gradient steepness. Furthermore, performance limits were determined applying ultra-high pressure conditions up to the maximum system pressure of 80 MPa. The potential of monolithic nanostructured columns is demonstrated for the separation of tryptic digests of cytochrome c and bovine serum albumin.

Preparation of porous polymer monoliths featuring enhanced surface coverage with gold nanoparticles

A new approach to the preparation of porous polymer monoliths with enhanced coverage of pore surface with gold nanoparticles has been developed. First, a generic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) monolith was reacted with cystamine followed by the cleavage of its disulfide bonds with tris(2-carboxylethyl)phosphine, which liberated the desired thiol groups. Dispersions of gold nanoparticles with sizes varying from 5 to 40 nm were then pumped through the functionalized monoliths. The materials were then analyzed using both energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. We found that the quantity of attached gold was dependent on the size of nanoparticles, with the maximum attachment of more than 60 wt% being achieved with 40 nm nanoparticles. Scanning electron micrographs of the cross sections of all the monoliths revealed the formation of a non-aggregated, homogenous monolayer of nanoparticles. The surface of the bound gold was functionalized with 1-octanethiol and 1-octadecanethiol, and these monolithic columns were used successfully for the separations of proteins in reversed phase mode. The best separations were obtained using monoliths modified with 15, 20, and 30 nm nanoparticles since these sizes produced the most dense coverage of pore surface with gold.

Pepsin immobilized on high-strength hybrid particles for continuous flow online digestion at 10,000 psi

Pepsin was immobilized on ethyl-bridged hybrid (BEH) particles, and digestion performance was evaluated in a completely online format, with the specific intent of using the particles for hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX MS) experiments. Because the BEH particles are mechanically strong, they could withstand prolonged, continuous high-pressure at 10,000 psi. Online digestion was performed under isobaric conditions with continuous solvent flow, in contrast to other approaches where the pressure or flow is cycled. As expected, digestion efficiency at 10,000 psi was increased and reproducibly produced more peptic peptides versus digestion at 1000 psi. Prototype columns made with the BEH pepsin particles exhibited robust performance, and deuterium back-exchange was similar to that of other immobilized pepsin particles. These particles can be easily incorporated in existing HDX MS workflows to provide more peptide coverage in experiments where fast, efficient, and reproducible online pepsin digestion is desired.

New trends in reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separations of therapeutic peptides and proteins: theory and applications

In the pharmaceutical field, there is considerable interest in the use of peptides and proteins for therapeutic purposes. There are various ways to characterize such complex samples, but during the last few years, a significant number of technological developments have been brought to the field of RPLC and RPLC-MS. Thus, the present review focuses first on the basics of RPLC for peptides and proteins, including the inherent problems, some possible solutions and some directions for developing a new RPLC method that is dedicated to biomolecules. Then the latest advances in RPLC, such as wide-pore core-shell particles, fully porous sub-2 μm particles, organic monoliths, porous layer open tubular columns and elevated temperature, are described and critically discussed in terms of both kinetic efficiency and selectivity. Numerous applications with real samples are presented that confirm the relevance of these different strategies. Finally, one of the key advantages of RPLC for peptides and proteins over other historical approaches is its inherent compatibility with MS using both MALDI and ESI sources.

Incorporation of carbon nanotubes in porous polymer monolithic capillary columns to enhance the chromatographic separation of small molecules

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes have been entrapped in monolithic poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) capillary columns to afford stationary phases with enhanced liquid chromatographic performance for small molecules in the reversed phase. While the column with no nanotubes exhibited an efficiency of only 1800 plates/m, addition of a small amount of nanotubes to the polymerization mixture increased the efficiency to over 15,000 and 35,000 plates/m at flow rates of 1 and 0.15 μL/min, respectively. Alternatively, the native glycidyl methacrylate-based monolith was functionalized with ammonia and, then, shortened carbon nanotubes, bearing carboxyl functionalities, were attached to the pore surface through the aid of electrostatic interactions with the amine functionalities. Reducing the pore size of the monolith enhanced the column efficiency for the retained analyte, benzene, to 30,000 plates/m at a flow rate of 0.25 μL/min. Addition of tetrahydrofuran to the typical aqueous acetonitrile eluents improved the peak shape and increased the column efficiency to 44,000 plates/m calculated for the retained benzene peak.

Peroxodisulfate as a chemical initiator for methacrylate-ester monolithic columns for capillary electrochromatography

Organic monolithic stationary phases for CEC were synthesized in situ in fused-silica capillaries. Polymerization mixtures were composed of butyl methacrylate, ethylene dimethacrylate, and [2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethyl ammonium chloride in the presence of a porogenic solvent, using ammonium peroxodisulfate as chemical initiator, and N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine to activate the reaction. The influence of the amount of initiator, temperature, and composition of porogenic solvent on the physical and chromatographic properties of monolithic stationary phases has been investigated. A minimum plate height of 14.5 microm was obtained at 18 wt% of 1,4-butanediol in the polymerization mixture. The produced monolithic stationary phases exhibited a good repeatability and batch-to-batch and mixture-to-mixture reproducibility, with RSD values below 5.6% in the electrochromatographic parameters studied. A comparison with columns prepared by thermal initiation with alpha,alpha'-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was also performed. The most efficient column initiated with peroxodisulfate showed better efficiencies and selectivities than that prepared with AIBN at the same composition mixture.

Polymer Monoliths with Low Hydrophobicity for Strong Cation-Exchange Capillary Liquid Chromatography of Peptides and Proteins

Two polymer monoliths were designed and synthesized from commercially available monomers with an attempt to decrease hydrophobicity for strong cation-exchange chromatography. One was prepared from the copolymerization of sulfoethyl methacrylate and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, and the other was synthesized from vinylsulfonic acid and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate. Both of the monoliths were synthesized inside 75-microm i.d., UV-transparent fused-silica capillaries by photopolymerization. The hydrophobicities of the two monoliths were systematically evaluated using standard synthetic undecapeptides under ion-exchange conditions and propyl paraben under reversed-phase conditions. The poly(sulfoethyl methacrylate) monolith demonstrated similar hydrophobicity as a monolith prepared from copolymerization of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid and poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, and 40% acetonitrile was required to suppress any hydrophobic interactions with peptides under ion-exchange conditions. However, with the use of vinylsulfonic acid as the functional monomer, a monolith with very low hydrophobicity was obtained, making it suitable for strong cation-exchange liquid chromatography of both peptides and proteins. It was found that monolith hydrophobicity could be adjusted by selection of monomers that differ in hydrocarbon content and type of vinyl group. Finally, excellent separations of model protein standards and high-density lipoproteins were achieved using the poly(vinylsulfonic acid) monolith. Five subclasses of high-density lipoproteins were resolved using a simple linear NaCl gradient.

Pore structural characterization of monolithic silica columns by inverse size-exclusion chromatography

In this work, a parallel pore model (PPM) and a pore network model (PNM) are developed to provide a state-of-art method for the calculation of several characteristic pore structural parameters from inverse size-exclusion chromatography (ISEC) experiments. The proposed PPM and PNM could be applicable to both monoliths and columns packed with porous particles. The PPM and PNM proposed in this work are able to predict the existence of the second inflection point in the experimental exclusion curve that has been observed for monolithic materials by accounting for volume partitioning of the polymer standards in the macropores of the column. The appearance and prominence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curve is determined to depend strongly on the void fraction of the macropores (flow-through pores), (b) the nominal diameter of the macropores, and (c) the radius of gyration of the largest polymer standard employed in the determination of the experimental ISEC exclusion curve. The conditions that dictate the appearance and prominence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curve are presented. The proposed models are applied to experimentally measured ISEC exclusion curves of six silica monoliths having different macropore and mesopore diameters. The PPM and PNM proposed in this work are able to determine the void fractions of the macropores and silica skeleton, the pore connectivity of the mesopores, as well as the pore number distribution (PND) and pore volume distribution (PVD) of the mesopores. The results indicate that the mesoporous structure of all materials studied is well connected as evidenced by the similarities between the PVDs calculated with the PPM and the PNM, and by the high pore connectivity values obtained from the PNM. Due to the fact that the proposed models can predict the existence of the second inflection point in the exclusion curves, the proposed models could be more applicable than other models for ISEC characterization of chromatographic columns with small diameter macropores (interstitial pores) and/or large macropore (interstitial pore) void fractions. It should be noted that the PNM can always be applied without the use of the PPM, since the PPM is an idealization that considers an infinitely connected porous medium and for materials having a low (<6) pore connectivity the PPM would force the PVD to a lower average diameter and larger distribution width as opposed to properly accounting for the network effects present in the real porous medium.

Comparison between monolithic conventional size, microbore and capillary poly(p-methylstyrene-co-1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane) high-performance liquid chromatography columns Synthesis, application, long-term stability and reproducibility

Novel monolithic supports (MS/BVPE) were prepared by thermally initiated free radical copolymerisation of p-methylstyrene (MS) and 1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane (BVPE). The polymer was synthesised in fused silica capillaries (80 mm x 0.2 mm and 80 mm x 0.53 mm) and in borosilicate glass columns (90 mm x 1.0 mm and 90 mm x 3.0 mm) to yield different HPLC column designs. A comparison of those column dimensions regarding morphology as well as separation efficiency and applicability in bioanalysis is presented. The efficiency towards proteins as well as oligonucleotides was found to be considerably improved with decreasing column I.D. While a 5-protein mixture was baseline separated on all investigated column designs, the separation of small biomolecules like oligonucleotides or peptides on microbore and conventional size glass columns was strongly restricted in terms of resolution due to extensive peak broadening or the occurrence of peak asymmetry. Monolithic MS/BVPE capillary columns up to 0.53 mm I.D., however, proved to be applicable to the fractionation of the whole spectrum of biopolymers, including proteins, peptides, oligonucleotides as well as double-stranded DNA fragments. Due to the fact that reliable chromatography makes great demand on the robustness of the stationary phase, monolithic MS/BVPE capillaries were subjected to a comprehensive reproducibility study including run-to-run as well as batch-to-batch reproducibility.

Stability and repeatability of capillary columns based on porous monoliths of poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate)

Monolithic poly(butyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) capillary columns have been prepared via either thermally or photochemically initiated polymerization of the corresponding monomers and the repeatability of their preparation has been explored. Three separate batches of 5 columns each were prepared using thermal and photochemical initiation for a total of 30 columns. All 30 capillary columns were tested in liquid chromatography-electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry mode for the separation of a model mixture of three proteins--ribonuclease A, cytochrome c and myoglobin. Excellent repeatability of retention times was observed for the proteins as evidenced by relative standard deviation (RSD) values of less than 1.5%. Somewhat broader variations with RSD values of up to 10% were observed for the pressure drop in the columns. The stability of retention times was also monitored using a single monolithic column and no significant shifts in either retention times or back pressure was observed in a series of almost 2200 consecutive protein separations.

Hydroxymethyl methacrylate-based monolithic columns designed for separation of oligonucleotides in hydrophilic-interaction capillary liquid chromatography

Hydroxymethyl methacrylate-based monolithic columns for separation of oligonucleotides by capillary liquid chromatography (CLC) were prepared. We optimized composition of the polymerization mixture, which contained the monomer mixture consisting of N-(hydroxymethyl) methacrylamide (HMMAA) and ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA), and the porogenic system composed of propane-1-ol, butane-1,4-diol and alpha, alpha'-azoisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. Separations of oligonucleotides were performed in HILIC (hydrophilic-interaction) mode using 100 mM triethylamine acetate (TEAA) in acetonitrile and in water as eluents. The influence of steepness of the mobile phase gradient on separation of the oligonucleotides was evaluated as well as the reproducibility of HMMAA monolith preparation.

Influence of pore size on the separation of random and block copolymers by interactive liquid chromatography

Stationary phase materials with small pore diameters are often used for the separation of copolymers according to their chemical composition. The rationale for such a column selection is to minimize the influence of the molecular weight on the separation. In this paper, we describe a detailed study of the influence of the pore size on the retention and separation of poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA)-poly(butylmethacrylate) copolymers. We used normal-phase (NP) and reversed-phase (RP) columns with various pore diameters, as well as non-porous columns and a monolithic column. The pore size was found to affect the separation, especially for (co-)polymer molecules with characteristic diameters that roughly correspond to the exclusion limit of the column. Also possibilities to separate block copolymers according to block length are strictly investigated. The making of one block in a di-block (DB) copolymer "invisible" can only be fulfilled if the "invisible" block does not play any role in the separation.

Monolithic organic polymeric columns for capillary liquid chromatography and electrochromatography

This review briefly summarizes the present state of the preparation and use of capillary monolithic columns for liquid chromatography (LC) and electrochromatography (EC). Most important approaches to the preparation of monolithic stationary phases based on organic polymers are outlined and the properties of the monoliths obtained are compared with those of classical particulate phases. A few selected applications of monolithic columns are shown to demonstrate the most important advantages of monolithic capillary columns. It is concluded that both the monolithic and particulate capillary columns are important and that judicious choice of the type suitable for a particular application requires careful consideration of the purpose of the separation and the properties of the solutes to be separated. Monolithic columns are substantially younger than packed ones and thus will require further theoretical and experimental study to further improve their preparation and to enable reliable prediction of their properties and applicability; nevertheless, they are very promising for the future.

Development and application of a high-performance liquid chromatography method using monolithic columns for the analysis of ecstasy tablets

A rapid and selective HPLC method using monolithic columns was developed for the separation and quantification of the principal amphetamines in ecstasy tablets. Three monolithic (Chromolith RP18e) columns of different lengths (25, 50 and 100 mm) were assessed. Validation studies including linearity, selectivity, precision, accuracy and limit of detection and quantification were carried out using the Chromolith SpeedROD, RP-18e, 50 mm x 4.6 mm column. Column backpressure and van Deemter plots demonstrated that monolithic columns provide higher efficiency at higher flow rates when compared to particulate columns without the loss of peak resolution. Application of the monolithic column to a large number of ecstasy tablets seized in Ireland ensured its suitability for the routine analysis of ecstasy tablets.

Monolithic poly(p-methylstyrene-co-1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane) capillary columns as novel styrene stationary phases for biopolymer separation

Novel monolithic capillary supports (200 microm I.D.) were prepared by polymerisation of methylstyrene (MS) and 1,2-bis(p-vinylphenyl)ethane (BVPE) as a crosslinker in the presence of inert diluents (porogens). These polymeric reversed-phases (MS/BVPE) showed excellent mechanical stability and minimised swelling in organic solvents. The chromatographic potential of monolithic MS/BVPE as a stationary phase for micro-high-performance liquid chromatography (mu-HPLC) was investigated by the separation of proteins and peptides applying reversed-phase (RP) and nucleic acids applying ion-pair reversed-phase (IP-RP) conditions. The permeability and chromatographic efficiency of the capillary columns were found to be highly influenced by the total monomer to porogen content as well as by the microporogen nature and its ratio. In the course of these optimisation studies, monoliths covering a broad permeability range were fabricated. The application of volumetric flow rates up to 200 microl/min allowed swift resolution of proteins, while smaller biomolecules were successfully separated at a higher overall porosity. A protein test mixture containing ribonuclease A, cytochrome c, alpha-lactalbumin, beta-lactoglobulin B and ovalbumin was thus baseline separated in 35s, a homologous series of phosphorylated oligothymidylic acids [d(pT)12-18] in less than 2 min.

Efficient Polymer Monolith for Strong Cation-Exchange Capillary Liquid Chromatography of Peptides

A stable poly[2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid-co-poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate] monolith was synthesized inside a 75-microm-i.d. capillary by photoinitiated copolymerization with water, methanol, and ethyl ether as porogens. The resulting monolith was evaluated for strong cation-exchange capillary liquid chromatography of both synthetic and natural peptides. Although the monolith possessed relatively strong hydrophobicity due to the use of 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid as one monomer, the monolith had a high dynamic binding capacity of 157 microequiv of peptide/mL, or 332 mg of cytochrome c/mL. Exceptionally high resolution resulting from extremely narrow peaks was obtained, resulting in a peak capacity of 179 when using a shallow salt elution gradient. Although a second, naturally formed gradient might contribute to the sharp peaks obtained, high efficiency was mainly due to the use of poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate as a biocompatible cross-linker.

DNA Extraction Using a Tetramethyl Orthosilicate-Grafted Photopolymerized Monolithic Solid Phase

A novel high-capacity, high-efficiency DNA extraction method is described using a photopolymerized silica-based monolithic column in a fused-silica capillary. Development involved investigation of the composition of the sol-gel monomer, fabrication conditions, and surface modifications in order to optimize the binding capacity. Extraction capacity and efficiency with the 3-(trimethoxysilyl)propyl methacrylate (TMSPM) monolith formulations fabricated in capillaries were investigated using a simple three-step procedure consisting of sample loading, washing of the solid phase, and elution of the DNA using a low ionic strength Tris buffer at pH 8. Once the TMSPM monomer concentration was optimized to yield a monolith with maximum test stability (robustness) and minimum back pressure, the monolith surface was modified by the grafting of tetramethyl orthosilicate (TMOS) for increased DNA binding capacity. After the examination of a variety of TMOS concentrations, 85% v/v TMOS was found to be optimal for DNA extraction without any obvious changes to the monolith structure. The reduction of time allowed for TMSPM hydrolysis prior to UV polymerization from 20 to 5 min led to a lower back pressure of the monolith, enabling better TMOS derivatization and therefore higher binding capacity. Minimal buffer volume (as low as 1 muL) was required to elute DNA from the solid phase, providing a DNA concentrating effect potentially important for downstream processes. While experimentation employed monolithic columns that were 12 cm in length, reduction of the length to 2 cm still allowed for a DNA binding capacity of at least 100 ng of prepurified human genomic DNA and extraction efficiencies greater than 85%. Extraction of low sample volumes (submicroliter) of human whole blood were successfully performed, with extraction efficiencies from the 2-cm monolithic column higher than those obtained from a commercial DNA extraction kit. These results position this novel matrix as an attractive alternative for solid-phase extraction of DNA and other biologically active molecules in microscale devices.

Ultra-fast tandem mass spectrometry scanning combined with monolithic column liquid chromatography increases throughput in proteomic analysis

Liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (LC/ESI-MS) has been used successfully for the characterization of biomolecules in proteomics in the last few years. This methodology relied largely on the use of reversed-phase chromatography, in particular C18-based resins, which are suitable for separation of peptides. Here we show that polymeric [polystyrene divinylbenzene] monolithic columns can be used to separate peptide mixtures faster and at a higher resolution. For 500 fmol bovine serum albumin, up to 68% sequence coverage and Mascot Mowse scores of >2000 were obtained using a 9 min gradient on a monolithic column coupled to an ion trap mass spectrometer with ultra-fast MS/MS scan rates. In order to achieve similar results using C18 columns, it was necessary to extend gradient times to 30 min. In addition, we demonstrate the utility of this approach for the analysis of whole Escherichia coli cell lysates by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (1D-SDS-PAGE) in combination with LC/MS/MS using 4 min gradients on monolithic columns. Our results indicate higher throughput capabilities of monolithic columns (3-fold gain in time or more) for conventional proteomics applications, such as protein identification and high sequence coverage usually required for detection of post-translational modifications (PTMs). Further optimization of sensitivity and quality of sequence information is discussed, in particular when combined with mass spectrometers that have very fast MS-MS/MS switching and scanning capabilities.

Affinity chromatography with monolithic capillary columns

Monolithic capillary columns with surface-immobilized mannan have been introduced for affinity-based micro-column separations by nano-liquid chromatography (nano-LC) and capillary electrochromatography (CEC). Two kinds of polymethacrylate monoliths were prepared, namely poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) and poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate-co-[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethyl ammonium chloride) to yield neutral and cationic macroporous polymer, respectively. While neutral monoliths with immobilized mannan were only useful for affinity nano-LC, the cationic monoliths with surface-bound mannan were useful in both affinity nano-LC and affinity CEC. The cationic monoliths allowed a relatively high electro-osmotic flow (EOF) when mannan was immobilized to the epoxy monolith via a positively charged spacer arm, triethylenetetramine. The neutral monoliths exhibited lower permeability under pressure-driven flow (PDF) than the cationic monoliths indicating that the latter had wider flow-through pores than the former. Both types of monoliths with immobilized mannan exhibited strong affinity toward mannose-binding proteins (MBP) such as the plant lectins concanavalin A and Lens culinaris agglutinin and a mammalian lectin (e.g. rabbit serum mannose-binding protein). Due to the strong binding affinity, the monoliths with surface bound mannan allowed the injection of large volume of rabbit serum and to isolate in a single run the mannose-binding protein in an amount sufficient to run with it sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS), thus demonstrating their capability in "nano-proteomics".

Development of reactive thiol-modified monolithic capillaries and in-column surface functionalization by radical addition of a chromatographic ligand for capillary electrochromatography

Reactive thiol-modified capillary columns for capillary electrochromatography (CEC) were developed by transforming the pendent 2,3-epoxypropyl groups of poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene dimethacrylate) (poly(GMA-co-EDMA)) monoliths into 3-mercapto-2-hydroxy-propyl residues by a nucleophilic substitution reaction, employing sodium-hydrogen sulfide as nucleophilic reagent. Conditions for this modification reaction were systematically optimized with respect to different parameters, such as reaction temperature, pH-value, reaction time, type and concentration of organic modifier, and concentration of the sodium-hydrogen sulfide solution. The amount of thiol groups that was generated on the monolith surface was determined directly in the capillaries by a disulfide-exchange reaction employing 2,2'-dipyridyl disulfide (DPDS). This reaction in the capillary liberates pyridine-2-thione in equimolar amount to the surface sulfhydryls, which was collected into a vial and determined photometrically at 343 nm by RP-HPLC. About 17% of the total lateral epoxide moieties of the monolithic substrate could be transformed to reactive sulfhydryl groups, which corresponds to about 0.7 mmol g(-1) monolithic polymer, with a column-to-column repeatability of 3.2% R.S.D. The reactive thiol groups can be utilized to attach any chromatographic ligand with appropriate anchor in a second step, e.g. by radical addition, graft polymerization, nucleophilic substitution, disulfide formation or Michael addition reaction. To demonstrate the feasibility of the concept, we chose an anion exchange type chromatographic ligand based on a quinine derivative, O-9-tert-butylcarbamoylquinine (t-BuCQN) which was attached to the monolith in a radical addition reaction, for a further in-column surface functionalisation. About 78% of the sulfhydryl groups were derivatized with t-BuCQN as determined from differential DPDS assays before and after the selector immobilization reaction. The applicability of these surface-functionalised monolithic capillary columns could be shown by an electrochromatographic separation of the enantiomers of N-3,5-dinitrobenzoyl-leucine, which performed fairly well compared to an analogous capillary that was fabricated by an in situ copolymerization approach.