Biosilica as a New Stationary Phase in HILIC Mode

Abstract

AbstractThe aim of this work was to use the biosilica obtained from diatoms (microalgae) cultivated under laboratory conditions as a new stationary phase to fill the chromatographic column and test it in high-performance liquid chromatography. Biosilica is an inorganic polymer consisting of orthosilicate units formed by organisms such as diatoms or siliceous sponges. The results showed that the prepared columns were characterized by relatively high efficiency, comparable to a commercially available material HALO HILIC of dp = 2.7 μm. The retention of polar compounds under a high acetonitrile content was worse than that on HALO HILIC, but it was proportionally lower when the surface area of both materials was compared. As model test solutes, nucleosides and nucleobases have undergone testing. They were examined separately for retention, and attempts to separate test mixtures were successful.