Water-wettable chromatographic media for solid phase extraction

Abstract

A method for removing an organic solute from a solution comprises contacting the solution with a polymer formed by copolymerizing one or more hydrophobic monomers and one or more hydrophilic monomers, whereby the solute is adsorbed onto the polymer. The solution can comprise a polar solvent such as a polar organic solvent or water or an aqueous buffer. The hydrophobic monomer can be, for example, divinylbenzene. The hydrophilic monomer can be, for example, a heterocyclic monomer, such as a vinylpyridine or N-vinylpyrrolidone.

Description

RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 615,820, filed Jul. 9, 2003, (now allowed), which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 10 / 235,608, filed Sep. 5, 2002 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,726,842; issue date Apr. 27, 2004), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 874,763, filed Jun. 5, 2001 (now U.S. Pat. No. 6,468,422; issue date Oct. 22, 2002), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 643,094 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,780; issue date Jul. 3, 2001), filed Aug. 21, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 374,945, filed Aug. 16, 1999 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,721; issue date Aug. 22, 2000), which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09 / 216,047, filed Dec. 18, 1998 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,367; issue date Nov. 2, 1999), which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 08 / 634,710 filed Apr. 18, 1996 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,521; issue date Mar. 16, 1999). The teachings of each of these re...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013] The present invention enables the solid phase extraction of one or more solutes from an aqueous solution, without prior wetting of the sorbent with an organic solvent. The method is versatile with respect to solute identity, resulting in extraction of a broad range of solutes of varying polarity. A particular advantage of the method is that the sorbent can dry out during the extraction procedure without diminishing the ability of the sorbent polymer to retain solutes. Thus, the present invention provides a simpler method for the preparation of analytical samples, decreasing sample preparation time and increasing sample throughput. The present method is, thus, also more amenable to automation than currently used methods.

Problems solved by technology

Such sorbents which are not pre-wetted or have dried out display poor solute retention, and, thus, inadequate separation of solution components.

The requirement that the sorbent remain wetted during the extraction procedure complicates solid phase extractions and substantially slows sample analysis.

This further complicates the development of instruments for automated solid phase extraction, which often incorporate elaborate safeguards to prevent drying out of the sorbent.

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