Claims
- 1. A method for removing one or more solutes from a solution, comprising contacting the solution with a water-wettable polymer formed by copolymerizing at least one hydrophilic monomer and at least one hydrophobic monomer having a hydrophobic to hydrophilic monomer ratio sufficient for the polymer to be water-wettable while being effective to retain organic solutes thereon, whereby the solute is adsorbed onto the polymer, and wherein said polymer is capable of adsorbing a less polar solute more strongly than a more polar solute and wherein said solutes are capable of being desorbed from said polymer in order of decreasing polarity by washing said polymer with a sequence of solvents of decreasing polarity.
- 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the solution comprises a polar solvent.
- 3. The method of claim 2 wherein the polar solvent is water, an aqueous solution or a mixture of water and one or more polar organic solvents.
- 4. The method of claim 2 wherein the solvent is methanol, ethanol, acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, N,N-dimethylformamide or dimethylsulfoxide.
- 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrophilic monomer comprises a heterocyclic group.
- 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the heterocyclic group is a pyrrolidonyl group or a pyridyl group.
- 7. The method of claim 6 wherein the hydrophilic monomer is selected from the group consisting of 2-vinylpyridine, 3-vinylpyridine and 4-vinylpyridine.
- 8. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrophobic monomer comprises a phenyl group, a phenylene group or a straight chain or branched C2-C18-alkyl group.
- 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the hydrophobic monomer is styrene or divinylbenzene.
- 10. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is within an open-ended container.
- 11. The method of claim 3 wherein the solution is blood plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, synovial fluid, a tissue extract, groundwater, surface water, a soil extract, a food substance, or an extract of a food substance.
- 12. The method of claim 1 wherein the solute is a drug, pesticide, herbicide, biomolecule, toxin, pollutant or a metabolite or degradation product thereof
- 13. The method of claim 12 wherein the biomolecule is a protein, vitamin, hormone, polypeptide, polynucleotide, lipid or carbohydrate.
- 14. A method for forming a solution of a solute which is suitable for quantitative analysis, comprising the steps of:
(a) contacting a first solution which includes the solute and a first solvent or a first mixture of solvents with a water-wettable polymer formed by copolymerizing at least one hydrophobic monomer and at least one hydrophilic monomer having a hydrophobic to hydrophilic monomer ratio sufficient for the polymer to be water-wettable while being effective to retain organic solutes thereon, whereby the solute is adsorbed onto the polymer; and (b) washing the polymer with a second solvent or a second mixture of solvents less polar than the first solvent or the first mixture of solvents, thereby desorbing the solute from the polymer and forming a second solution of the solute, said second solution being suitable for quantitative analysis.
- 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the first solution comprises water, an aqueous solution or a mixture of water and one or more polar organic solvents.
- 16. The method of claim 14 wherein the second solvent is a polar, water-miscible organic solvent or a mixture of water and a polar, water-miscible solvent.
- 17. The method of claim 16 wherein the second solvent is selected from the group consisting of acetone, tetrahydroftiran, acetonitrile, methanol, ethanol, n-propanol and isopropanol.
- 18. The method of claim 14 wherein the second solvent is a water-immiscible organic solvent.
- 19. The method of claim 18 wherein the second solvent is selected from the group consisting of diethyl ether, ethyl acetate, chloroform and dichloromethane.
- 20. A method for forming a solution of a polar organic compound which is suitable for quantitative analysis, comprising the step of contacting an aqueous solution which includes the polar organic solute and one or more additional solutes, the additional solutes being less polar than the polar organic solute, with a water-wettable polymer formed by copolymerizing at least one hydrophobic monomer and at least one hydrophilic monomer having a hydrophobic to hydrophilic monomer ratio sufficient for the polymer to be water-wettable while being effective to retain organic solutes thereon, whereby the additional solutes are adsorbed onto the polymer and the polar organic solute remains in solution.
- 21. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrophobic monomer is divinylbenzene.
- 22. The method of claim 14 wherein the hydrophobic monomer is divinylbenzene.
- 23. The method of claim 20 wherein the hydrophobic monomer is divinylbenzene.
- 24. The method of claim 1 wherein the hydrophilic monomer is N-vinylpyrrolidone.
- 25. The method of claim 14 wherein the hydrophilic monomer is N-vinylpyrrolidone.
- 26. The method of claim 20 wherein the hydrophilic monomer is N-vinylpyrrolidone.
- 27. The method of claim 1 wherein the polymer is a poly(divinylbenzene-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) copolymer.
- 28. The method of claim 14 wherein the polymer is a poly(divinylbenzene-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) copolymer.
- 29. The method of claim 20 wherein the polymer is a poly(divinylbenzene-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) copolymer.
- 30. A solid phase extraction cartridge comprising a water-wettable polymer packed inside an open-ended container, said polymer being formed by copolymerizing at least one hydrophobic monomer and at least one hydrophilic monomer having a hydrophobic to hydrophilic monomer ratio sufficient for the polymer to be water-wettable while being effective to retain organic solutes thereon and wherein said polymer is capable of adsorbing a less polar solute more strongly than a more polar solute and wherein said solutes are capable of being desorbed from said polymer in order of decreasing polarity by washing said polymer with a sequence of solvents of decreasing polarity.
- 31. The solid phase extraction cartridge of claim 30 wherein the polymer is a poly(divinylbenzene-co-N-vinylpyrrolidone) copolymer.
- 32. The solid phase extraction cartridge of claim 30 comprising from 0.001 g to 10 g of copolymer.
- 33. The solid phase extraction cartridge of claim 32 comprising from 0.025 g to 1 g of copolymer.
- 34. The solid phase extraction cartridge of claim 30 further comprising one or more porous retaining means adjacent to the polymer.
- 35. The solid phase extraction cartridge of claim 34 wherein at least one porous retaining means is a filter element.
- 36. The method of claim 1 wherein the method is performed using a microtiter well plate capable of extracting one or more solutes from a solution.
- 37. A microtiter well plate suitable for extraction comprising a water-wettable polymer packed inside an open-ended container, said polymer being formed by copolymerizing at least one hydrophobic monomer and at least one hydrophilic monomer having a hydrophilic to hydrophobic monomer ratio sufficient for the polymer to be water-wettable while being effective to retain organic solutes thereon, wherein said polymer adsorbs a less polar solute more strongly than a more polar solute and wherein said solutes are capable of being desorbed from said polymer in order of decreasing polarity by washing said polymer with a sequence of solvents of decreasing polarity.
RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/874,763, filed Jun. 5, 2001 (now allowed), which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/643,094 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,254,780; issue date Jul. 3, 2001), filed Aug. 21, 2000, which is a continuation application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/374,945, filed Aug. 16, 1999 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,721; issue date Aug. 22, 2000), which is a continuation of U.S. Ser. No. 09/216,047, filed Dec. 18, 1998 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,367; issue date Nov. 2, 1999), which is a divisional of U.S. Ser. No. 08/634,710 filed on Apr. 18, 1996 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,882,521; issue date Mar. 16, 1999). The teachings of each of these referenced applications are expressly incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Divisions (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
08634710 |
Apr 1996 |
US |
Child |
09216047 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Continuations (4)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09874763 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Child |
10235608 |
Sep 2002 |
US |
Parent |
09643094 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Child |
09874763 |
Jun 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09374945 |
Aug 1999 |
US |
Child |
09643094 |
Aug 2000 |
US |
Parent |
09216047 |
Dec 1998 |
US |
Child |
09374945 |
Aug 1999 |
US |