Monolithic HPLC Column - Technology Life Cycle

Technology Life Cycle

Though scientists are generally regarded by outsiders as being on the cutting edge, the industry in which they perform their work is very conservative. The field of liquid chromatography is no different in this respect. From the first chromatograph by Tswett in 1900 to widespread adoption of the technology in the 40s and 50s, half a century had passed; and from the time of Synge’s first theory that single-piece stationary phases might be worthwhile to the application of the technology saw another five decades pass. From initial idea to mature technology takes decades in this field.

New technologies in HPLC generally start in small research labs in academia or government, where they are studied vigorously. The technology then spreads to small businesses and, after trial by fire, to larger corporations. Silica monoliths have only been commercially available since 2001, when Merck began their Chromolith campaign. The Chromolith technology was licensed from Tanaka’s group at Kyoto Institute of Technology. The new product won the PittCon Editors’ Gold Award for Best New Product, as well as an R&D 100 Award, both in 2001.

Individual monolith columns have a life cycle that generally exceeds that of its particulate competitors. When selecting an HPLC column supplier, column lifetime was second only to column-to-column reproducibility in importance to the purchaser. Chromolith columns, for example, have demonstrated reproducibility of 3,300 sample injections and 50,000 column volumes of mobile phase. Also important to the life cycle of the monolith is its increased mechanical robustness; polymeric monoliths are able to withstand pH ranges from 1 to 14, can endure elevated temperatures, and do not need to be handled delicately.

It is difficult to determine the extent of the life cycle for monoliths. Though it is easy to say they are still in the early stages of product acceptance, extrapolating their usefulness into the future is less reliable. Because of the broad application of monolith technologies in biomolecular separations and the likelihood that biotechnologies will increase their use of the monoliths as separations media, it is probable that monoliths will expand into smaller and larger scale separations, and perhaps even be of use as a disposable LC media. “Monoliths are still teenagers,” affirms Frantisec Svec, a leader in the field of novel stationary phases for LC.