Accepted manuscript in TrAC-Trends in Analytical Chemistry

February 2019

Trends in analytical separations of magnetic (nano)particles

Corresponding Author: Mirek Macka

Authors: Monica Alves, Manuel Miro, Michael Breadmore, Mirek Macka

Abstract

Magnetic particles (MPs) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are appealing candidates for biomedical and analyticalapplications due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Given that magnetic fields can be readily used tocontrol the motion and properties of M(N)Ps, their integration in analytical methods opens new avenues for sensingand quantitative analysis. There is a large body of literature related to their synthesis, with a relatively small number ofmethods reporting the analysis of M(N)Ps using separation methods, which provide information on their purity andmonodispersity. This review discusses analytical separation methods of M(N)Ps published between 2013 and June2018. The analytical separation methods evaluated in this work include (i) field flow fractionation, (ii) macroscalemagnetophoresis, (iii) capillary electrophoresis and (iv) microchip magnetophoresis. Among the trends in analyticalseparations of M(N)Ps an inclination towards miniaturization is moving from conventional benchtop methods to rapidand low-cost methods based on microfluidic devices.