A novel glycidyl methacrylate-based monolith with sub-micron skeletons and well-defined macropores

Abstract

A series of glycidyl methacrylate-based polymer monoliths, including spherical walled structures, sub-micron skeletons, and lamellar morphologies, are reproducibly prepared by high internal phase emulsions in combination with block copolymer chemistry. The morphologies could be manipulated over a wide range by only altering the typical tri-block copolymer (Pluronic F127) concentration. The ability of the Pluronic F127 to direct supramolecular self-assembly is the main reason for the rich phase behavior exhibited such as the micellar phase (i.e., spherical micelles, wormlike micelles), the bicontinuous phase, and the lamellar phase. Equally important, the glycidyl methacrylate-based monoliths differ significantly from conventional polymer monoliths; they have sub-micron skeletons (100–1000 nm), micrometer-sized throughpores, relatively large specific surface area (161 m2 g−1), and excellent permeability (6.1 × 10−13 m2). Further, the monoliths display superiority in fast and high-throughput separation of proteins. This, together with easy fabrication makes the novel monoliths a promising alternative to commercially available monolithic supports.