Method of producing etched non-porous particles

Abstract

There is disclosed a method of producing etched non-porous particles. The method includes, in some examples, coating a non-porous particle with a hydrophilic polymer and treating the coated particle with acid or base. Also provided is etched non-porous particles capable of separating a variety of analytes, including biomolecules.

1 . A method of producing etched non-porous particles, the method comprising:
 providing a plurality of non-porous particles at least partially coated with at least one of a hydrophilic polymer, an inorganic metal oxide, a hybrid metal oxide, or a magnetic material; and   contacting the plurality of non-porous particles with an acid or base to produce a plurality of etched non-porous particles.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-porous particles is made of a polymeric material and the coating is at least one of an inorganic metal oxide, a hybrid metal oxide, or a magnetic material. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , wherein the polymeric material at least partially coated with at least one of an inorganic metal oxide, a hybrid metal oxide, or a magnetic material, is further at least partially coated with the hydrophilic polymer to create a coated non-porous particle. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the coated non-porous particle is contacted with the acid or base to produce the plurality of etched non-porous particles. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the plurality of etched non-porous particles are washed to remove the hydrophilic polymer. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-porous particles is made of an inorganic metal oxide, a hybrid metal oxide, or a magnetic material, and is coated with the hydrophilic polymer. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein the inorganic metal oxide or hybrid metal oxide, or magnetic materials having the hydrophilic polymer coating particles is contacted with an acid or base to produce the plurality of etched non-porous particles. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the plurality of etched non-porous particles is washed to remove the hydrophilic polymer. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of non-porous particles is silica particles with a surface at least partially coated with at least one organosilyl group. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the hydrophilic polymer comprises at least one of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), polyacrylamide, poly(acrylic acid), polymethacrylate, poly(ethylene glycol), poly(ethylene oxide), poly(2-oxazoline), polyethylenimine, poly(vinyl alcohol), poly(vinylpyrrolidone), or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-porous particles are contacted by the hydrophilic polymer by heating the non-porous particles with the hydrophilic polymer in an aqueous medium. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the heating is at a temperature of from about 30° C. to about 95° C. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the contacting is for a period of from about 2 hours to about 24 hours. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the base comprises at least one of an alkali metal hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide, tetramethylammonium hydroxide, or a combination thereof; and the acid comprises at least one of ammonium fluoride, hydrofluoric acid, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         15 . A method of producing etched metal oxide particles, the method comprising:
 providing a plurality of inorganic or hybrid metal oxide particles;   optionally coating the inorganic or hybrid metal oxide particles with at least one hydrophilic polymer; and   contacting the plurality of inorganic or hybrid metal oxide particles with an acid or base to produce a plurality of etched metal oxide particles.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each particle of the plurality of etched non-porous particles has a pore volume of from about 0.001 to about 0.1 cm 3 /g, a surface area of from about 2 to about 100 m 2 /g, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         17 . (canceled) 
     
     
         18 . (canceled) 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-porous particles is made of a silica particle and the coating is at least one of hydrophilic group, hydrophobic group, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the non-porous particle includes a diameter of from about 0.3 μm to about 10 μm.