| Capillary electrochromatography (CEC) is a technique that has gained increased interest in recent years, as it combines the advantages of high efficiency of electrophoretic separation methods with the greater selectivity characteristic of HPLC. In this dissertation we explored the use of CEC as a potential alternative to conventional HPLC for the separation of polymers. Procedures were developed for column fabrication, testing, and conditioning for successful operation in CEC mode. Results for the reversed phase and ion exchange separation of peptides, using both isocratic and gradient CEC, are presented. For the separation of large, neutral polymers, size exclusion mechanism was employed. The molecular weight distributions of a variety of synthetic polymers and polysaccharides were determined using size exclusion electrochromatography (SEEC); the results correlated well with those obtained by conventional methods. The SEEC separations provide an alternative mode for determining the relative molecular weights of polymers with reduced sample and solvent consumption, as well as analysis times. |
