Chapter 16 - Role of magnetic polymer–coated nanoparticles in separation sciences

Abstract

Magnetic separation introduces an external magnetic field, which considerably simplifies the sample pretreatment process without filtering and centrifugation. The use of magnetic separation has found applications in many fields such as wastewater treatment, biochemistry, and medical research. Most promising are those attempts where the magnetic nanoparticles were modified by polymeric coating. In this chapter, strategies of magnetic separator design is discussed, then methods for increasing stability and selectivity of magnetic nanoparticles are discussed. Molecular imprinting polymers and polymers with functional groups are the most promising coating for modification of magnetic nanoparticles for separation of science applications. In the final section, application of magnetic separation in different area is discussed. The most important section is biological and environmental analysis such as the concentration of biological macromolecules in proteome, enriching the proteins/peptides, separating the nucleic acids, cell separation, extracting the bioactive compounds with a lower molecular weight, drugs extraction, and extracting the pharmacologically active compounds. The most important advantages of magnetic separation compared with other separation methods are ease of operation, higher efficiency, better control on separation system, lower energy, and convenience for automation. Moreover, most magnetic adsorbents can be easily recycled and reused, which can greatly save cost and protect the environment.