Chromatographic evaluation of reversed-phase/anion-exchange/cation-exchange trimodal stationary phases prepared by electrostatically driven self-assembly process

This work describes chromatographic properties of reversed-phase/cation-exchange/anion-exchange trimodal stationary phases. These stationary phases were based on high-purity porous spherical silica particles coated with nano-polymer beads using an electrostatically driven self-assembly process. The inner-pore area of the material was modified covalently with an organic layer that provided both reversed-phase and anion-exchange properties while the outer surface was coated with nano-sized polymer beads with strong cation-exchange characteristics. This design ensured spatial separation of the anion-exchange and the cation-exchange regions, and allowed reversed-phase, anion-exchange and cation-exchange retention mechanisms to function simultaneously. Chromatographic evaluation of ions and small molecules suggested that retention of ionic analytes was influenced by the ionic strength, pH, and mobile phase organic solvent content, and governed by both ion-exchange and hydrophobic interactions. Meanwhile, neutral analytes were retained by hydrophobic interaction and was mainly affected by mobile phase organic solvent content. Depending on the specific application, selectivity could be optimized by adjusting the anion-exchange/cation-exchange capacity ratio (selectivity), which was achieved experimentally by using porous silica particles with different surface areas.