Modification of nanofibres for extraction in liquid chromatography

Department: Department of Analytical Chemistry Candidate: Adam Valachovič Supervisor: doc. RNDr. Dalibor Šatínský, Ph.D. Title of the diploma thesis: Modification of nanofibers for extraction in liquid chromatography The diploma thesis demonstrates the influence of modifications of polymer nanofibers on their extraction properties for extraction in liquid chromatography. Nanofibers represent a potential sorbent for extraction methods due to their large surface area, which leads to increased capacity of extraction. Another advantage of nanofibers is the possibility to modify their surface resulting in various nanofibers with different extraction properties. In this thesis, the modifications were performed by coating polypropylene nanofibers with a polydopamine layer. The polymerization solution was pumped through a column, in which the nanofibers were placed, using a peristaltic pump connected to the column by a system of tubes. An on-line SPE HPLC method was developed to determine the extraction properties of the modified nanofibers. Chlorogenic acid was chosen as the model analyte, because its extraction is affected by the polydopamine layer. The key parameters of the coating process were optimized, including the weight of the nanofibers, the concentration of dopamine in the polymerization..