Low crosslinking imprinted coatings based on liquid crystal for capillary electrochromatography

Low loading capacity is the main problem of molecularly imprinted stationary phase, which is attributed to the high level of crosslinking restricting distortion phenomena of polymer backbone in molecular imprinting. A new approach based on liquid crystal with recognition ability is demonstrated for synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer coatings in a low level of crosslinking. The resulting low crosslinking (20%) open-tubular imprinted capillary was able to separate enantiomers by means of capillary electrochromatography. The resolution of enantiomer separation achieved on the (S)-amlodipine-imprinted capillary was up to 6.36 in less than 2.5 min. The strong recognition ability with a selectivity factor of 1.81 and high column performance of template (up to 23,300 plates/m) were obtained. Performance of imprinting comparable to that recorded in conventional MIP stationary phase was observed. The liquid crystal MIP coatings were also prepared using either (S)-naproxen or (S)-ofloxacin as template molecule. The resolutions of enantiomers separation were 1.41 and 1.55, respectively. The results illustrate that the synthesis of low crosslinking MIP coatings based on liquid crystal is not only an experimental-simplified process of high performance, but also an approach to produce chiral stationary phase comparable to other chiral stationary phases.

► Low cross-linked imprinted polymers were prepared in the presence of liquid crystalline monomer. ► The resulting imprinted coating was evaluated by capillary electrochromatography. ► Chiral separation can be achieved with a resolution of 6.36 in less than 2.5 min. ► Liquid crystal-based low cross-linked MIPs demonstrated higher selectivity and column performance of template.