Less common applications of monoliths: V. Monolithic scaffolds modified with nanostructures for chromatographic separations and tissue engineering

Abstract

Scaffolds modified with nanostructures are recently finding use in a broad range of applications spanning from chromatographic separations to tissue engineering. This continuation of the review series on design and applications of monolithic materials covers some of the less common monoliths including use of nanostructures in preparation, modifications, and applications.

Nanomaterials as tools in chromatographic methods

“…These high values were ascribed to the enhanced sorption capacity of titania/silica mixed oxides compared to pure titania, due to the high dispersion of titania in the silica support, which improves the adsorption of the analytes. 9 A variety of NMs, such as metal oxide, carbon (CNTs, fullerenes, graphene), gold and silver NPs have been assayed to improve the features of GC [4,[39][40][41] and LC columns [4,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48]. The main goals of using these new stationary phases are to increase the contact surface area with the solutes, and to improve the selectivity, arising from the unique adsorption properties of the NPs, the separation efficiency and mechanical properties.…”

“…The modification of both silica [41,44] and polymer based [41,43,44,47] monolithic columns with NMs has give rise to new materials with high porosity, diverse surface chemistry and large specific surface area, which have a great potential as new stationary phases for chromatographic separations. However, the research in this field began only a few years ago and it may require further efforts to reach its maturity [44].…”

Recent Advances and Uses of Monolithic Columns for the Analysis of Residues and Contaminants in Food

“…Most of the methods controlling the surface chemistry of porous polymer monoliths described so far rely on copolymerization of functional monomers, chemical modification of reactive groups of the monolith or grafted chains originating from functional monomers [17]. However, it is of great interest to explore new approaches enabling the modification of monolithic supports to obtain materials adapted for specific applications; thus, more dedicated and less common applications of monoliths have recently been found [18]. Moreover, the incorporation of nanostructures in the polymeric scaffold, as well as the preparation of hybrid structures had been described by Arrua et al, 2012 [19].…”

A novel polymeric monolith prepared with multi-acrylate crosslinker for retention-independent efficient separation of small molecules in capillary liquid chromatography

“…Compared with silica-based monolith and organic-inorganic hybrid monolith, polymer-based monolith, including polymethacrylate, polyacrylamide and polystyrene monoliths [12][13][14], shows significant advantages, such as good chemical stability, simple preparation and variety of functionality [15,16]. On account of the diversity of functional monomers, polymer-based monolith has been widely applied to several chromatographic modes including reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC) [17], hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) [18] and ion-exchange chromatography (IEC) [19] etc.…”