A new strong anion-exchange stationary phase for HPLC has been synthesized by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP). Firstly, 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide as the ATRP initiator was attached onto the macroporous silica via chemical reaction. In the next stage, methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (MATA) carrying strong anion exchanger groups as the monomer was polymerized on the initiator-immobilized particles via surface-initiated ATRP. After studying the adsorption properties, the suitable support was packed into stainless steel column to separate acid proteins by the linear gradient elution in 20 min at flow rate of 0.75 mL/min. The effects of flow rate, pH and organic solvents on the separation and retention ability of proteins were studied in detail. This support was also used for the separation and purification of ovalbumin from egg in only one step.

Key words: silica, strong anion-exchange chromatography, atom transfer radical polymerization, protein s separation