Green Preparation of a γ-Aminobutyric Acid Bonded Silica Packing Material for Capillary Column and Its Performance Evaluation

A γ-aminobutyric acid bonded silica (Sil - GABA) stationary phase was prepared in a green medium with only water as solvent, which was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The separation mode and analytical performance of the Sil - GABA stationary phase were evaluated through a series of experiments when it was used as packing material for capillary column. Results showed that three nitrochlorobenzene positional isomers and seven sulfonamides were separated effectively on the Sil - GABA stationary phase with ammonium acetate as mobile phase in an aqueous liquid chromatography mode. Four benzoic acid compounds were separated with high concentrations of organic solvents as mobile phases in a hydrophilic chromatography mode. Additionally, three nitroaniline positional isomers were also separated in a reversed phase chromatography mode. Under the optimal conditions, the relative standard deviations (RSD) of the retention times for the sulfonamides were within 3. 2%, indicating that the Sil - GABA column has a good reproducibility. The prepared Sil - GABA stationary phase could provide potential applications in capillary liquid chromatography with multiple retention mechanisms.