New 'one-step' method for the simultaneous synthesis and anchoring of organic monolith inside COC microchip channels

A new method for monolith synthesis and anchoring inside cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) microchannels in a single step is proposed. It is shown that type I photo-initiators, typically used in a polymerization mixture to generate free radicals during monolith synthesis, can simultaneously act as type II photo-initiators and react with the plastic surface through hydrogen abstraction. This mechanism is used to 'photo-graft' poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (PEGMA) on COC surfaces. Contact angle measurements were used to observe the changes in surface hydrophilicity when increasing initiator concentration and irradiation duration. The ability of type I photo-initiators to synthesize and anchor a monolith inside COC microchannels in a single step was proved through SEM observations. Different concentrations of photo-initiators were tried. Finally, electro-chromatographic separations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were realized to illustrate the beneficial effect of anchoring on chromatographic performances. The versatility of the method was demonstrated with two widely used photo-initiators: benzoin methyl ether (BME) and azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN). (authors)