Trends in analytical separations of magnetic (nano)particles

Magnetic particles (MPs) and magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are appealing candidates for biomedical and analytical applications due to their unique physical and chemical properties. Given that magnetic fields can be readily used to control the motion and properties of M(N)Ps, their integration in analytical methods opens new avenues for sensing and quantitative analysis. There is a large body of literature related to their synthesis, with a relatively small number of methods reporting the analysis of M(N)Ps using separation methods, which provide information on their purity and monodispersity. This review discusses analytical separation methods of M(N)Ps published between 2013 and June 2018. The analytical separation methods evaluated in this work include (i) field flow fractionation, (ii) capillary electrophoresis, (iii) macroscale magnetophoresis and (iv) microchip magnetophoresis. Among the trends in analytical separations of M(N)Ps an inclination towards miniaturization is moving from conventional benchtop methods to rapid and low-cost methods based on microfluidic devices.