Department of Chemistry and Polymer Science, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch, 7602, South Africa.
Department of Correlative Characterization, Institute of Functional Materials for Sustainability, Helmholtz Center Hereon, Kantstrasse 55, 14513, Teltow, Germany.
Anal Bioanal Chem. 2024 Jul;416(16):3665-3675. doi: 10.1007/s00216-024-05255-3. Epub 2024 Mar 22.
Bio-based and biodegradable materials play a vital role in a sustainable and green economy. These materials must exhibit properties that are similar to or better than the properties of oil- or coal-based materials and require sophisticated synthesis technologies and detailed knowledge of structure-property correlations. For comprehensive molecular structure elucidation, advanced analytical methods, including coupled and hyphenated techniques that combine advanced fractionation and information-rich spectroscopic detectors, are an indispensable tool. One important tool for fractionating complex polymers regarding molecular size is size exclusion chromatography. For fractionating polymers with regard to chemical composition, solvent (or temperature) gradient HPLC has been developed. The combination of different liquid chromatography methods in comprehensive two-dimensional HPLC setups is another important tool. Today, a toolbox of HPLC methods is in place that enables the fractionation of complex bio-based and biodegradable polymers according to the most important molecular parameters including molecular size, composition, functionality, and branching. Here, an overview of the different techniques and some major applications is presented. Some representative developments in the field are discussed, and different techniques, experimental protocols, and applications are highlighted.
生物基和可生物降解材料在可持续和绿色经济中发挥着至关重要的作用。这些材料必须具有类似于或优于石油或煤炭基材料的性能，并需要先进的合成技术和详细的结构-性能关系知识。为了进行全面的分子结构阐明，先进的分析方法，包括结合先进的分级和信息丰富的光谱检测器的耦合和键合技术，是不可或缺的工具。对于根据分子大小对复杂聚合物进行分级的一种重要工具是尺寸排阻色谱法。为了根据化学组成对聚合物进行分级，已经开发了溶剂（或温度）梯度 HPLC。不同液相色谱方法在综合二维 HPLC 装置中的组合是另一个重要工具。如今，已经有了一套 HPLC 方法工具包，可以根据最重要的分子参数（包括分子大小、组成、功能和支化度）对复杂的生物基和可生物降解聚合物进行分级。本文概述了不同的技术和一些主要应用。讨论了该领域的一些代表性发展，并强调了不同的技术、实验方案和应用。
