Dendrimers based sorbents: Promising materials for analytical extractions

Dendrimers are macromolecules with highly repetitive branched structures resembling with a tree. Their size, shape, inner core and outer functionalities can be tailored and modified per required molecular design, which encourages their use as a selective extracting phase in analytical extractions. Their multifunctional architecture can provide high selectivity as well as enrichment factors. To date, these materials have been widely used in biomedical applications such as drug delivery, gene and cancer therapy, and tissue engineering. Recently, an emerging trend has been seen for using dendrimers based sorbents in analytical extractions such as solid phase extraction, solid phase microextraction, capillary microextraction, dispersive micro solid phase extraction, and stir-bar sorptive extraction. This review intends to provide a brief overview of this trend to analytical community.