Carbohydrate monolithic beds were synthesized in a single step in capillary columns to study affinity chromatography of lectins. In this method, carbohydrates (β-galactose, β-glucose, and α-mannose) with an easy to synthesize alkene terminated tetraethylene glycol spacer were used as functional monomers along the monomer 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). As crosslinkers (+)-N,N′-diallyltartardiamide (DATD) and piperazine diacrylamide (PDA, 1,4-bisacryloyl-piperazine) were used. SEM showed the successful formation of monolithic beds in the capillary columns. The permeability of the columns was high. The specific interaction of the lectins Con A, Lens culinaris (LCA) and Arachis hypogaea (PNA) with the carbohydrate stationary phase was studied by frontal affinity chromatography (FAC). Con A and LCA were successfully eluted from the column using 0.1 M methyl-α-mannopyranoside and PNA with 0.1 M β-galactose. Dissociation constants (Kd) for carbohydrate-lectin interactions were determined and compared with literature. © 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.