Preparation and evaluation of a phenylboronate affinity monolith for selective capture of glycoproteins by capillary liquid chromatography

A phenylboronate affinity monolith was prepared and applied to the selective capture of glycoproteins from unfractionated protein mixtures. The monolith was synthesized in a 100 μm i.d capillary by an in situ polymerization procedure using a pre-polymerization mixture consisting of 4-vinylphenylboronic acid (VPBA) as functional monomer, ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) as crosslinker, diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol as binary porogenic solvents, and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as initiator. The prepared monolith was characterized in terms of the morphology, pore property, and recognition property. The selectivity and dynamic binding capacity were evaluated by using standard glycoproteins and nonglycoproteins as model proteins. The chromatographic results demonstrated that the phenylboronate affinity monolith had higher selectivity and binding capacity for glycoprotein than nonglycoprotein. The resulting phenylboronate affinity monolith was used as the sorbent for in-tube solid phase microextraction (in-tube SPME), and the extraction performance of the monolith was assessed by capture of ovalbumin from egg white sample.