Preparation of a strong-cation exchange monolith by a novel method and its application in the separation of IgG on high performance liquid chromatography

► Strong cation exchange monolith was prepared by ATRP. ► The ATRP process was realized without complexing ligand. ► The novel technique led a more uniform structure. ► The monolith was used to separate IgG and Lys with good resolution. ► The dynamic binding capacity of the monolith was much higher than that of the previous. A strong cation-exchange poly(vinyl carboxylate-co-ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate) (poly(VC-co-EDMA)) monolithic column for high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) has been prepared firstly by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) without the expensive complexing ligand, in which vinyl carboxylate was used as the monomer, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate as the cross linking agent, carbon tetrachloride as the initiator and ferrous chloride as the catalyst. Conditions of the polymerization have been studied and optimized. Morphology of monolithic materials was studied by scanning electronic microscopy. Chemical groups of the monolith were assayed by infrared spectra method and the pore size distribution was determined by a mercury porosimeter. Moreover, the monolith was modified to bear strong-cation exchange groups and tested on the separation of human immune globulin G (IgG) from human plasma in conjunction with HPLC. Good resolution was obtained in a short time (10min) in the separation. The effects of pH and buffer concentration on the elution of IgG have been investigated. Moreover, frontal analytical method was used to get the IgG dynamic banding capacity of the monolith that was 3.0mgg−1. Besides, the monolith was also used to separate lysozyme from egg white and separate the mixture of papain, snailase and IgG.