Construction of polymer monolithic columns in polypropylene ink-pen tubes for separation of proteins by cation-exchange chromatography.

We describe the synthesis of polymer monoliths inside polypropylene tubes from ink pens. These tubes are cheap, chemically stable, and resistant to pressure. UV-initiated grafting with 5 wt% benzophenone in methanol for 20 min activated the internal surface, thus enabling the covalent binding of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, also via photografting. The pendant vinyl groups attached a poly(glycidyl methacrylate-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) monolith prepared via photopolymerization. These tubes measured 100-110 mm long, with 2 mm of internal diameter. The parent monoliths were functionalized with Na2 SO3 or iminodiacetate to produce strong and weak cation exchangers, respectively. The columns exhibited permeabilities varying from 2.7 to 3.3 × 10-13  m2 , which enabled the separation of proteins at 500 µL/min and back pressures <2.8 MPa. Neither structure collapse nor monolith detachment occurred at flow rates as high as 2.0 mL/min, which produced back pressures between 6.9 and 9.0 MPa. The retention times of ovalbumin, ribonuclease A, cytochrome C, and lysozyme in salt gradient at pH 7.0 followed the order of increasing isoelectric points, confirming the cation exchange mechanism. Separation and determination of lysozyme in egg white proved the applicability of the columns to the analysis of complex samples.

Monolithic columns in plant proteomics and metabolomics.

Since "omics" techniques emerged, plant studies, from biochemistry to ecology, have become more comprehensive. Plant proteomics and metabolomics enable the construction of databases that, with the help of genomics and informatics, show the data obtained as a system. Thus, all the constituents of the system can be seen with their interactions in both space and time. For instance, perturbations in a plant ecosystem as a consequence of application of herbicides or exposure to pollutants can be predicted by using information gathered from these databases. Analytical chemistry has been involved in this scientific evolution. Proteomics and metabolomics are emerging fields that require separation, identification, and quantification of proteins, peptides, and small molecules of metabolites in complex biological samples. The success of this work relies on efficient chromatographic and electrophoretic techniques, and on mass spectrometric detection. This paper reviews recent developments in the use of monolithic columns, focusing on their applications in "top-down" and "bottom-up" approaches, including their use as supports for immobilization of proteolytic enzymes and their use in two-dimensional and multidimensional chromatography. Whereas polymeric columns have been predominantly used for separation of proteins and polypeptides, silica-based monoliths have been more extensively used for separation of small molecules of metabolites. Representative applications in proteomics and in analysis of plant metabolites are given and summarized in tables.