The immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography (IMAC) is based on the affinity between the transition metal ions and the target molecules, with the transition metal ions being immobilized on the solid matrix by ligands and combined with histidine or cysteine of the target molecules to form relatively stable complexes. The enrichment and the purification of the target molecules are achieved by the competitive elution. The IMAC, with the preparation of the metal chelate affinity materials as its core technology, has been developed for more than 40 years and widely used in the specific enrichment, separation and purification of the target molecules due to its high affinity selectivity, good biocompatibility and reversible regeneration. From the point of view of the analytical chemistry, the recent three-year advances in the IMAC nanomaterials, microsphere chromatography matrices, cotton fibers, molecularly imprinted materials, monolith and covalent organic frameworks are reviewed in this paper.

immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography  /  enrichment  /  purification  /  material