Molecularly imprinted polymers for triazine herbicides prepared by multi-step swelling and polymerization method. Their application to the determination of methylthiotriazine herbicides in river water

Uniformly-sized, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for atrazine, ametryn and irgarol were prepared by a multi-step swelling and polymerization method using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker and methacrylic acid (MAA), 2-(trifluoromethyl) acrylic acid (TFMAA) or 4-vinylpyridine either as a functional monomer or not. The MIP for atrazine prepared using MAA showed good molecular recognition abilities for chlorotriazine herbicides, while the MIPs for ametryn and irgarol prepared using TFMAA showed excellent molecular recognition abilities for methylthiotriazine herbicides. A restricted access media-molecularly imprinted polymer (RAM-MIP) for irgarol was prepared followed by in situ hydrophilic surface modification using glycerol dimethacrylate and glycerol monomethacrylate as hydrophilic monomers. The RAM-MIP was applied to selective pretreatment and enrichment of methylthiotriazine herbicides, simetryn, ametryn and prometryn, in river water, followed by their separation and UV detection via column-switching HPLC. The calibration graphs of these compounds showed good linearity in the range of 50-500 pg/mL (r > 0.999) with a 100 mL loading of a river water sample. The quantitation limits of simetryn, ametryn and prometryn were 50 pg/mL, and the detection limits were 25 pg/mL. The recoveries of simetryn, ametryn and prometryn at 50 pg/mL were 101%, 95.6% and 95.1%, respectively. This method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of simetryn, ametryn and prometryn in river water.     

New restricted access materials combined to molecularly imprinted polymers for selective recognition/release in water media

A new restricted access materials combined to molecularly imprinted polymers (RAM-MIP) with hydrophilic external layer were prepared and their applicability in p-acetaminophenol (AMP) selective recognition and release was evaluated. Glycidilmethacrylate (GMA) was used as pro-hydrophilic co-monomer, and GMA epoxide ring opening with perchloric acid was performed for the hydrophilic modification of polymeric surface. Morphological and hydrophilic properties by scanning electron microscopy and water content measurement were determined and recognition and selectivity properties of RAM-MIP were compared to the unmodified MIP. With RAM-MIP, both hydrophobic non-specific interactions between template or its analogues and polymeric matrices, and bovine serum albumin absorption were drastically reduced.     

Investigation of enantiomer recognition of molecularly imprinted polymeric monoliths in pressurized capillary electrochromatography screening the amino acids and their derivatives

Molecularly imprinted monolithic columns were prepared for chiral separation of tyrosine and its amino acid derivatives by in situ therm-initiated copolymerization of methacrylic acid, 4-vinylpyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate. The enantiomers were rapidly separated on monolithic columns in less than 10 min by pressurized capillary electrochromatography (pCEC). The influences of several parameters such as the content of cross-linking monomer on the composition of the pre-polymerization mixture were systematically investigated. The influence of the pCEC conditions including the composition of the mobile phase was also optimized to obtain the good enantioseparation. It was found that in addition to molecularly imprinted recognition, chromatographic retention and electrophoretic migration play important roles in the retention and chiral recognition of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) columns. The cross-selectivity for similar amino acids and its derivatives were systematical investigated for understanding the recognition mechanism on the MIP monolithic columns. The results indicated that molecularly imprinted polymer recognizes the template molecule by its molecular shape defined binding cavity.     

Monodisperse restricted access material with molecularly imprinted surface for selective solid‐phase extraction of 17β‐estradiol from milk

In this study, novel monodisperse restricted access media‐molecularly imprinted polymers were successfully prepared by surface initiated reversible addition‐fragmentation chain transfer polymerization using monodisperse crosslinked poly (glycidyl methacrylate‐co‐ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) microspheres as the carrier and acryloyl chloride‐modified β‐cyclodextrin as the hydrophilic functional monomer. The surface morphology, protein exclusion, and adsorption properties of the molecularly imprinted polymers were investigated. The results show that the material has excellent monodispersity and hydrophilicity, and simultaneously exhibit high adsorption capacity, fast binding kinetics, high selectivity, and significant thermal stability. The molecularly imprinted polymers as dispersive solid‐phase extraction adsorbent combined with reversed‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatography was used to selectively enrich, separate, and analyze trace 17β‐estradiol in milk samples. The recovery of 17β‐estradiol is 88–95% with relative standard deviation of <4%, and the limits of detection and quantification of this method are 2.08 and 9.29 µg/L, respectively. The novel restricted access media‐molecularly imprinted polymer adsorbents provide an effective method for the selective extraction and detection of 17β‐estradiol directly from complex samples.     

Rationally designing molecularly imprinted polymer towards predetermined high selectivity by using metal as assembled pivot

This article presents an original work aiming at rationally designing a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) towards high selective recognition. Assembled with (S)-naproxen as a template and 4-vinylpyridine as a functional monomer, a certain amount of cobalt, as pivot, is added for the preparation of MIP. The result indicates that the use of pivot plays obviously a positive role in increasing the specificity of MIP, so as to adsorb more for the template and less for its enantiomer. Related information indicates that this, in logic, can be a result of increasing match between binding sites and the templates, which makes the polymer capable of selectively recognizing the imprint species.     

Tuning of the vinyl groups’ spacing at surface of modified silica in preparation of high density imprinted layer-coated silica nanoparticles: A dispersive solid-phase extraction materials for chlorpyrifos

This paper reports the preparation of high density imprinted layer-coated silica nanoparticles toward selective recognition and fast enrichment of chlorpyrifos (CP) from complicated matrices. The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were successfully coated at the surface of modified silica through using the chemical immovable vinyl groups at the nanoparticles’ surface, followed by the graft copolymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) in the presence of templates CP. It has been demonstrated that the space of end vinyl groups at the surface of silica can be controlled by changing the condition of chemical modification, regulating the thickness of imprinted shells and the density of efficient imprinted sites. After removal of templates by solvent extraction, the recognition sites of CP were created in the polymer coating layer. The CP-imprinted nanoparticles exhibited high recognition selectivity and binding affinity to CP analyte. When the CP-imprinted nanoparticles were used as dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE) materials, the high recovery yields of 76.1-93.5% from various spiked samples with only 1 μg/mL analyte were achieved by one-step extraction. These results reported herein provide the possibility for the separation and enrichment of CP from complicated matrices by the molecular imprinting modification at the surface of common silica nanoparticles.     

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers for strychnine by precipitation polymerization and multistep swelling and polymerization and their application for the selective extraction of strychnine from nux‐vomica extract powder

Monodisperse molecularly imprinted polymers for strychnine were prepared by precipitation polymerization and multistep swelling and polymerization, respectively. In precipitation polymerization, methacrylic acid and divinylbenzene were used as a functional monomer and crosslinker, respectively, while in multistep swelling and polymerization, methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate were used as a functional monomer and crosslinker, respectively. The retention and molecular recognition properties of the molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by both methods for strychnine were evaluated using a mixture of sodium phosphate buffer and acetonitrile as a mobile phase by liquid chromatography. In addition to shape recognition, ionic and hydrophobic interactions could affect the retention of strychnine in low acetonitrile content. Furthermore, molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by both methods could selectively recognize strychnine among solutes tested. The retention factors and imprinting factors of strychnine on the molecularly imprinted polymer prepared by precipitation polymerization were 220 and 58, respectively, using 20 mM sodium phosphate buffer (pH 6.0)/acetonitrile (50:50, v/v) as a mobile phase, and those on the molecularly imprinted polymer prepared by multistep swelling and polymerization were 73 and 4.5. These results indicate that precipitation polymerization is suitable for the preparation of a molecularly imprinted polymer for strychnine. Furthermore, the molecularly imprinted polymer could be successfully applied for selective extraction of strychnine in nux‐vomica extract powder.     

Ultrasensitive separation of methylprednisolone acetate using a photoresponsive molecularly imprinted polymer incorporated polyester dendrimer based on magnetic nanoparticles

We developed an approach for the use of polyester dendrimer during the imprinting process to raise the number of recognized sites in the polymer matrix and improve its identification ability. Photoresponsive molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized on modified magnetic nanoparticles involving polyester dendrimer which uses the reactivity between allyl glycidyl ether and acrylic acid for the high‐yielding assembly by surface polymerization. The photoresponsive molecularly imprinted polymers were constructed using methylprednisoloneacetate as the template, water‐soluble azobenzene involving 5‐[(4, 3‐(methacryloyloxy) phenyl) diazenyl] dihydroxy aniline as the novel functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross‐linker. Through the evaluation of a series of features of spectroscopic and nano‐structural, this sorbent showed excellent selective adsorption, recognition for the template, and provided a highly selective and sensitive strategy for determining the methylprednisoloneacetate in real and pharmaceutical samples. In addition, this sorbent according to good photo‐responsive features and specific affinity to methylprednisoloneacetate with high recognition ability, represented higher binding capacity, a more extensive specific area, and faster mass transfer rate than its corresponding surface molecularly imprinted polymer.     

Preparation of a Pyrazosulfuron-Ethyl Imprinted Polymer with Hydrophilic External Layers by Reversible Addition-Fragmentation Chain Transfer Precipitation and Grafting Polymerization

A new imprinted polymer with both functions of molecular recognition and macromolecule exclusion was synthesized for selective extraction of pyrazosulfuron-ethyl and removal of humic acids in environmental analysis. In the preparation, spherical pyrazosulfuron-ethyl imprinted polymers were synthesized by reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) precipitation polymerization. The hydrophilic polymer layers were then grafted on the surface of the imprinted polymer microspheres using post-RAFT polymerization. The conditions that influence the selectivity, size, and uniformity of the imprinted microspheres were studied systematically. The computer simulation was employed to study the template-monomer interaction. The solubility parameters of poly(MAA-co-EDMA) and porogen were calculated to investigate the relationship between the particle size and the solubility parameter. The results indicated that the pyrazosulfuron-ethyl imprinted polymers have special affinity for the template and several structurally related sulfonylurea herbicides. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with external hydrophilic chains not only had function of template retention, but also better function of protein/humic acid exclusion. This research demonstrates that multifunctional imprinted material with a narrow size distribution can be prepared by the RAFT polymerization.     

Simultaneous determination of bisphenol A and its halogenated derivatives in river water by combination of isotope imprinting and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

A restricted access media-molecularly imprinted polymer (RAM-MIP) for [2H16]bisphenol A (BPA-d16) was prepared by a multi-step swelling and polymerization method using 4-vinylpyridine as a functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, followed by hydrophilic surface modification using glycerol dimethacrylate and glycerol monomethacrylate as hydrophilic monomers. The obtained RAM-MIP showed excellent molecular recognition abilities for BPA and BPA-d6 as well as BPA-d16 used as the template molecule, and good ones for tetrachlorobisphenol A (Cl4-BPA) and tetrabromobisphenol A (Br4-BPA). Next, the RAM-MIP was utilized for selective on-line pretreatment and enrichment of BPA, Cl4-BPA and Br4-BPA in a river water sample, followed by their separation and determination by LC-MS. The calibration graphs of BPA, Cl4-BPA and Br4-BPA, constructed using BPA-d6 as an internal standard, showed good linearity in the range of 12.5-200 pg/mL (r > 0.999) with a 2-mL injection of a river water sample. The inter-day precision data for the assay of BPA, Cl4-BPA and Br4-BPA at 25 pg/mL were 1.08, 3.67 and 1.58%, respectively. Furthermore, this method was successfully applied for the simultaneous determination of BPA and its halogenated derivatives in river water.     

以混旋邻氯扁桃酸为模板的分子印迹聚合物的制备及拆分性能研究

以混旋邻氯扁桃酸为模板分子和合成的(S)-(1-萘乙基)-丙烯酰胺为手性功能 单体制备分子印迹聚合物作为色谱固定相，对混旋邻氯扁桃酸有较好的拆分能力， 分离因子α达到1.36。但对模板分子的类似物混旋扁桃酸和对氯扁桃酸没有拆分能 力。用Hyperchem软件模拟了(S)-邻氯扁桃酸与(S)-(1-萘乙基)-丙烯酰胺形成的复 合物的结构模型，其在聚合物母体中留下的具有立体构型和作用力双重识别的S-S 型空穴，对(S)-邻氯扁桃酸有较强的保留作用，从而达到对混旋物拆分的目的。     

Uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymer for (S)-naproxen retention and molecular recognition properties in aqueous mobile phase

A uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for (S)-naproxen has been prepared by a multi-step swelling and polymerization method using 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPY) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as a functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively. We optimized the preparation method of the MIP by changing the molar amounts of the template molecule and functional monomer. Further, we examined the effects of organic modifier type, column temperature and flow-rate on the retentivity and enantioselectivity for naproxen using a mixture of phosphate buffer and organic modifier (acetonitrile, ethanol and 2-propanol) as an eluent. When the amounts of (S)-naproxen, 4-VPY and EDMA used were 4, 6 and 25 mmol, respectively, the enantioselectivity and resolution for naproxen were good despite the shorter retention. When acetonitrile was used as an organic modifier, the highest column efficiency was obtained for the separation of naproxen enantiomers. With regard to the effects of column temperature and flow-rate, the column performance was improved by elevating a column temperature and decreasing a flow-rate.     

硅胶表面苯并噻吩分子印迹聚合物的分子识别与吸附性能

选用γ-氨丙基三乙氧基硅烷和α-甲基丙烯酸修饰的硅胶作为载体,以甲基丙烯酸为功能单体,二甲基丙烯酸乙二醇酯为交联剂,苯并噻吩为模板分子,合成一种具有选择性识别苯并噻吩分子的印迹聚合物。采用红外光谱、元素分析及N2吸附对其结构进行了表征,以模拟汽油通过静态吸附对其吸附性能进行了研究。结果表明,在硅胶载体表面成功地嫁接了多孔的分子印迹聚合物薄层。印迹聚合物对苯并噻吩具有良好的识别性能,对苯并噻吩的吸附动力学满足Langergren准一级反应动力学方程,吸附过程属于单分子层吸附。符合Langmuir吸附模型印迹聚合物对苯并噻吩的平衡吸附容量达57.4×10-3,而非印迹聚合物的吸附容量为33.1×10-3。印迹聚合物在经过多次再生后其吸附容量基本不变,从而为在汽油深度脱硫中有效脱除噻吩类硫化物提供了一种新技术途径。     

核-壳型赤藓红分子印迹聚合物的制备及吸附性能的评价

以氨基化修饰的SiO_2为内核,人工合成色素赤藓红为模板,甲醇/水为溶剂,4-乙烯基吡啶为功能单体,二甲基丙烯酸乙二醇酯为交联剂,偶氮二异丁腈为引发剂,采用表面印迹技术,制备核-壳型赤藓红分子印迹聚合物。通过红外光谱对其结构进行表征,并通过动力学吸附、等温饱和吸附和实际样品加标实验对其吸附性能进行评价。结果表明,核-壳型赤藓红分子印迹聚合物具有较快的吸附能力,在15min左右达到吸附平衡,有较好的吸附容量,能够从复杂的食品样品中选择性吸附模板,且回收可达85%。     

啶虫脒分子烙印聚合物的识别特性

利用分子烙印技术,以啶虫眯为模板分子,甲基丙烯酸(MAA)为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯(EDMA)为交联剂,合成了对啶虫脒具有高度选择性的模板聚合物,通过平衡吸附实验,评价了其对啶虫眯的亲和力和选择性.与空白烙印聚合物相比,对啶虫脒表现了很高的亲和力.Scatchard分析表明,在啶虫脒模板聚合物中存在对啶虫脒有不同亲和力的两类作用位点,高亲和力的吸附位点的离解常数为Kd1=4.68×10-4mol/L,最大表观吸附量QMAX1=18.8μmol/g,低亲和力位点的离解常数为Kd2=7.93×10-3mol/L,最大表观吸附量QMAX2=142μmol/g.通过与啶虫脒类似物质在啶虫脒模板聚合物上的吸附行为比较,表明对啶虫脒具有很好的选择性.     

Determination of Tetracyclines by Solid-Phase Extraction with a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

Tetracyclines are widely used antibiotics classified as emerging pollutants and may lead to an increase in bacterial resistance in the environment. In order to determine these compounds at low concentrations, a water-compatible molecularly imprinted polymer was developed for solid-phase extraction followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The monomers 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate and glycerol dimethacrylate were added 1 h after the start of the synthesis to provide hydroxyl groups on the polymer surface. This hydrophilic layer established hydrogen bonds with water, minimizing interferences of this solvent in the analyte-polymer complex, increasing analyte adsorption. The polymer was then used for solid-phase extraction to preconcentrate the tetracyclines. The method provided low limits of quantification (5 µg L^?1), good linearity, precision, and accuracy for tetracyclines, with preconcentration factors of 14, 19, 29, and 41 for oxytetracycline, tetracycline, chlortetracycline, and doxycycline, respectively.     

Restricted access media-molecularly imprinted polymer for propranolol and its application to direct injection analysis of beta-blockers in biological fluids

A restricted access media-molecularly imprinted polymer (RAM-MIP) for propranolol (PRP) has been prepared for direct injection analysis of beta-blockers in biological fluids. First, the MIP for PRP was prepared using methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively, by a multi-step swelling and polymerization method. Next, a 1:1 mixture of glycerol monomethacrylate and glycerol dimethacrylate was used for hydrophilic surface modification, and added directly to the MIP for PRP after 4 h from the start of polymerization. Then further polymerization was carried out for 20 h. The obtained RAM-MIP for PRP showed excellent molecular recognition ability for PRP, good ones for alprenolol (ALP) and pindolol, and fair ones for other beta-blockers. The RAM-MIP was applied for direct injection analysis of ALP enantiomers in a rat plasma sample by a column-switching HPLC system using a beta-cyclodextrin phenylcarbamate-bonded silica column as the analytical column. The calibration graph, constructed from peak area versus each ALP enantiomer concentration, was linear with a correlation coefficient of > 0.999 over the concentration ranges of 12.5-250 ng ml(-1). The limit of quantitation was 12.5 ng ml(-1) with a 50 microl injection. This method could be applicable for the assay of ALP enantiomers at the therapeutic plasma levels, and have wide applicability for the assay of beta-blockers in biological fluids.     

Preparation of a novel molecularly imprinted polymer for the highly selective extraction of baicalin

The selective extraction of baicalin is important to its quality control especially when the matrices are complicated. In this work, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared for the selective extraction of baicalin in herbs. The molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized by the copolymerization of 4‐vinyl pyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate in the presence of baicalin by a precipitation polymerization method. After the optimization of parameters for molecularly imprinted polymer preparation, including the functional monomer, porogen, sampling solvent, and washing solvent, good selectivity was obtained, with an imprinting factor of about 4, which is much better than that achieved by the bulk‐polymerization method. The performances of the prepared molecularly imprinted polymers were systematically investigated, including adsorption kinetics, isotherm experiment, and Scatchard analysis. On the basis of the good adsorptive capability of the prepared molecularly imprinted polymer, it was also applied for the pretreatment of baicalin in Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. The result showed that most of the matrices were removed and baicalin was selectively enriched.     

Enantioselective sensor based on microgravimetric quartz crystal microbalance with molecularly imprinted polymer film

We report a novel quartz crystal microbalance sensor that provides enantioselectivity to dansylphenylalanine enantiomers by using a molecularly imprinted polymer film as a recognition element. The polymeric recognition thin film, imprinted with chiral dansyl-L-phenylalanine, was immobilised on a gold electrode modified with a photoactive precursor monolayer via a self-assembly process using photopolymerization. The fabricated sensor was able to discriminate between L- and D-dansylphenylalanine enantiomers in solution owing to the enantioselectivity of the imprinted sites. The enantiomeric composition of L- and D-enantiomeric mixtures could be quantitatively determined by the fabricated sensor. The detection limit is 5 micrograms mL-1 with a response range of 5-500 micrograms mL-1 at pH 10.0. The influence of the template concentration on the sensitivity and selectivity of the synthesised polymer membranes was investigated and optimised. The surface characteristics of the polymer coating were studied by varying the pH value of the buffer solution, and a convenient regeneration process was proposed to increase the reproducibility and reusability of the sensor by flushing with pH 2.0 buffer. The selectivity and recognition mechanism of the imprinted polymer film were studied with compounds that are structurally related to the template. The method presented in this work provides a novel means of preparing highly selective and sensitive chemical sensors via self-assembly and molecularly imprinting techniques.     

Retentivity and enantioselectivity of uniformly-sized molecularly imprinted polymers for (S)-nilvadipine in aqueous and non-aqueous mobile phases.

Uniformly-sized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for (S)-nilvadipine have been prepared by a multi-step swelling and polymerization method using methacrylic acid or 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPY) as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as a cross-linker, and toluene, chloroform, cyclohexanol or phenylacetonitrile as a porogen. The chiral recognition abilities of the MIPs for nilvadipine were evaluated using aqueous and non-aqueous mobile phases. Among the MIPs, the (S)-nilvadipine-imprinted 4-VPY-co-EDMA polymers prepared using toluene as a porogen showed the highest recognition ability for nilvadipine in both aqueous and non-aqueous mobile phases. In addition to molecular shape recognition, hydrogen-bonding interactions of the NH proton of nilvadipine with a pyridyl group of the (S)-nilvadipine-imprinted 4-VPY-co-EDMA polymers could play an important role in the retention and chiral recognition of nilvadipine in aqueous and non-aqueous mobile phases. Furthermore, the MIP for (S)-nilvadipine gave the highest molecular recognition ability when a porogenic solvent during polymerization was used as the mobile phase modifier.