POLYACRYLAMIDE-MODIFIED POLYPROPYLENE HOLLOW FIBERS FOR CAPILLARY ELECTROPHORESIS

Surface treatment methods were developed for bonding of a polyacrylamide layer on the inside surface of polypropylene hollow fiber columns for capillary electrophoresis. Details of different modification procedures involving surface activation and in situ polymerization, using dynamic and static coating of reagents, are described. Both linear and cross-linked polyacrylamide modified surfaces greatly improved the electrophoretic performance of the capillaries. The column efficiencies for model proteins reached as high as 370,000 theoretical plates on an 85 mu m i.d. polyacrylamide surface-treated polypropylene hollow fiber column. A variety of applications, including the separation of several very polar compounds at a pH of 10.6, were demonstrated. Reproducibility measurements were used to illustrate the performance and high pH stability of the resultant columns.