Size Separation of Small Molecules

Environmental Sample Cleanup for GC/MS

Very Durable

MetaGel™ is a Better GPC Material
MetaGel™ GPC columns have been developed to provide high resolving power and rugged durability for non-aqueous size exclusion chromatography. MetaGel™ materials represent the latest in microparticulate porous polymer bead technology. MetaGel’s styrene divinylbenzene spheres have been manufactured by a modified emulsion polymerization technique to produce a material with exceptionally high pore volume and very rigid bead composition. High pore volume results in high resolving power. Since the size separation of polymers occurs by virtue of diffusion in and out of the gel pores, the more pores, the greater the separation potential, all else constant. One of the primary challenges in the synthetic procedure is to produce a material which has the maximum number of pores of the correct volume and morphology, yet maintains the mechanical strength required of a high pressure GPC column. Taking advantage of a unique cross-linking reagent which imparts special rigidity to the polymer beads, MetaGel™ materials exhibit an excellent “ratio” of resolving power to mechanical strength.

Rigid bead construction also translates into wide solvent compatibility, which is advantageous for several reasons. Unlike other GPC columns, MetaGel™ columns can be used in solvents of widely varying polarity without loss of performance. For example, MetaGel™ columns can be routinely switched from THF to DMF to Methylene Chloride to NMP to DMSO to Methanol and back to THF. Therefore, the user requires fewer columns to perform a range of separations. Additionally, MetaGel™ columns are compatible with eluent modifiers such as 0.1% amines, 0.5% glacial acetic acid, and up to 1% water. These modifiers are sometimes useful in helping to minimize hydrophobic interactions between non-ideal samples and SDVB packings.

MetaGel™ materials are available in 5, 10, and 15 micron spherical particles in pore sizes ranging from 100Ĺ to 106Ĺ. Mixed bed, “linear” columns are also available which provide an extremely wide molecular weight separation range. MetaGel™ columns are shipped in THF as a standard practice. However, MetaGel™ columns can also be shipped in solvents such as DMF, Methylene Chloride, NMP, and o-CP by special request when ordering.   

Standard column sizes are 300 x 7.8mm. Longer, 600 x 7.8mm columns are also available for increased resolution. MetaGel™ narrow-bore columns are now available to help reduce solvent use. “Preparative” columns for 250 x 22.5mm are available for large scale separations. These preparative columns have proven especially useful for “cleanup” of environmental samples prior to analysis of PCBs and other pollutants by GC/MS.

Guard Columns
MetaGuard™ columns are available for use with MetaGel™ GPC columns. MetaGuard™ columns protect valuable analytical and preparative columns from the deleterious effects of sample/column interactions.