Monolithic bed structure for capillary liquid chromatography

► Monolithic column technology and morphology for capillary LC are reviewed. ► Morphologies of monolithic and packed capillary columns are compared. ► Performances of capillary columns are related to their morphologies. Monolithic stationary phases show promise for LC as a result of their good permeability, ease of preparation and broad selectivity. Inorganic silica monoliths have been extensively studied and applied for separation of small molecules. The presence of a large number of through pores and small skeletal structure allows the chromatographic efficiencies of silica monoliths to be comparable to columns packed with 5 μm silica particles, at much lower back pressure. In comparison, organic polymeric monoliths have been mostly used for separation of bio-molecules; however, recently, applications are expanding to small molecules as well. Organic monoliths with high surface areas and fused morphology rather than conventional globular morphology have shown good performance for small molecule separations. Factors such as domain size, through-pore size and mesopore size of the monolithic structures have been found to govern the efficiency of monolithic columns. The structure and performance of monolithic columns are reviewed in comparison to particle packed columns. Studying and characterizing the bed structures of organic monolithic columns can provide great insights into their performance, and aid in structure-directed synthesis of new and improved monoliths.