Abstract: Dendrimers are novel functional polymers with three-dimensional tree-like spatial structures that have been widely used in catalysis, sensing, and biomedical applications, and as functional materials owing to their unique physical and chemical properties. Recent years have witnessed the gradual use of dendrimers to prepare and modify various separation materials, including adsorbents and chromatographic stationary phases. Polyamide-amine (PAMAM) has become one of the most widely used dendritic materials because it is simple to prepare, inexpensive, hypotoxic, and has excellent performance characteristics. PAMAM is advantageous as a modification material for adsorbents and chromatographic stationary phases compared to other traditional materials. Firstly, the large number of terminal groups on a PAMAM dendrimer provide abundant interaction sites on the surface of the functional matrix, which is beneficial for delivering superior adsorption capacity and separation selectivity. In addition, the hyperbranched structure of a PAMAM dendrimer facilitates higher grafting efficiency on the limited surface area of the matrix while simultaneously improving the uniformity of the functional groups grafted on the surface. Moreover, the controllable structure of PAMAM dendrimer effectively regulates the surface structure of separated materials. Finally, the good biocompatibility of PAMAM endows the modified material with excellent applications prospects for the separation of bioactive substances in the biomedical field. Moreover, the terminal amino functional groups across the various generations of PAMAM dendrimer are capable of carrying a high density of positive charges following protonation or quaternization, thereby facilitating good electrostatic interactions with negatively charged anionic substances that lead to excellent enrichment and separation effects. Based on the structural characteristics of integer generation PAMAM dendrimer and the mechanism of ionic interaction, the research progress of protonated or quaternized PAMAM dendrimer in the preparation of ionic adsorbents and ion chromatography stationary phases was summarized in this paper. Their future development potential and applications prospects are also discussed.

Key words: polyamide-amine (PAMAM), dendrimer, ionic interaction, chromatographic stationary phase, adsorbent, review