Selectivity of polymeric and polymer-supported pseudo-stationary phases in micellar electrokinetic chromatography

Micelle polymers, polymer surfactants, and dendrimers have recently been employed as pseudo-stationary phases in electrokinetic chromatography. Several advantages over conventional surfactant micelles have been demonstrated. These phases are effective for the separation and analysis of hydrophobic compounds and chiral compounds, and the application of mass spectrometric detection. Additionally, the polymeric phases often demonstrate unique selectivity relative to micellar phases, and can be designed and synthesized to provide desired selectivity. This review covers efforts to characterize the selectivity of polymeric pseudo-stationary phases since their introduction in 1992. Some thoughts on future development of polymeric pseudo-stationary phases with unique selectivity are presented. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.