Preparation of temperature sensitive molecularly imprinted polymer for solid-phase microextraction coatings on stainless steel fiber to measure ofloxacin

Preparation of a New Solid-Phase Microextraction Fiber Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Monitoring of Phenobarbital in Urine Samples

A simple solid-phase microextraction technique using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP-SPME) was prepared to monitor phenobarbital in urine samples. In this technique, the fiber was prepared via insertion of the modified stainless-steel wire in the reaction solution including 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane and tetraethyl orthosilicate in the presence of an acidic catalyst (acetic acid). The fabricated MIP-SPME fiber was utilized to selectively extract phenobarbital from urine samples and prepare it for detection through high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection. The synthesized MIPs were characterized by several techniques such as Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and thermal gravimetric analysis. The effects of various influencing factors on the extraction yield of phenobarbital were considered and optimized. The conditions that yielded the maximum extraction efficiency were as follows: pH of 5, 25 min extraction time, 500 rpm stirring rate, 15 min desorption time and using methanol as elution solvent. Within the range of concentrations of 0.02 to 100 μg mL-1, the method had linear characteristics, with a suitable coefficient of determination (0.9983). We determined limits of detection and limits of quantification to be 9.88 and 32.9 ng mL-1, respectively. The repeatability and reproducibility of the prepared fibers were 4.6 and 6.5%, respectively.

Micro-gel thin film molecularly imprinted polymer coating for extraction of organophosphorus pesticides from water and beverage samples

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have become an important class of materials for selective and efficient adsorption of target analytes. Despite versatility of MIPs for fabrication in numerous formats, these materials have been primarily reported as solid phase extraction packing materials. An effective thin film MIP prepared on stainless steel substrate is reported here for high throughput enrichment of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) from water and beverage samples followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) analysis. The key factors controlling performance as well as best practices for optimized fabrication of thin film MIPs are presented. A pseudo-phase diagram is introduced to evaluate and predict the effect of the ratio of porogen (solvent, 1-octanol) volume to relative crosslinker mass on the desired polymer features (i.e., porosity, surface area, capacity, and selectivity). At low porogen ratios, a macroporous polymer with insignificant selectivity is formed, whereas at high porogen ratios a micro-gel polymer with superior selectivity towards targets is obtained. The porosity and morphology determined with nitrogen adsorption and scanning electron microscopy were attributed to specific regions in the pseudo-phase diagram. Other factors influencing selectivity and stability of the polymer, such as type of the template and its ratios with monomer (methacrylic acid) and crosslinker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) were optimized. The prepared thin film MIPs were characterized using adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics, and evaluated for matrix effects (high humic acid content) and cross-reactivity in presence of other pesticides and pharmaceuticals. The optimized method provided limits of quantitation (LOQs) ranged from 0.002 to 0.02 ng mL^-1 in water and from 0.095 to 0.48 ng g^-1 in apple juice. Regarding inter-device variability (CV∼10% without normalization), excellent linearity (R² > 0.99), satisfactory accuracies (90-110%) and precisions (<15%) were obtained.

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers for extraction of fluoroquinolones in environmental, food and biological samples

In recent years, fluoroquinolones have been found present in important water resources and food sources which compromises the food quality and availability, thereby, causing risks to the consumer. Despite the recent advancement in the development of analytical instrumentation for routine monitoring of fluoroquinolones in water, food, and biological samples, sample pre-treatment is still a major bottleneck of the analytical methods. Therefore, fast, selective, sensitive, and cost-effective sample preparation methods prior to instrumental analysis for fluoroquinolones residues in environmental, food and biological samples are increasingly important. Solid-phase extraction using different adsorbents is one of the most widely used pre-concentration/clean-up techniques for analysis of fluoroquinolones. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) serve as excellent effective adsorbent materials for selective extraction, separation, clean-up and preconcentration of various pollutants in different complex matrices. Therefore, synthesis of MIPs remains crucial for their applications in sample preparation as this offers much-needed selectivity in the extraction of compounds in complex samples. In this study, the progress made in the synthesis of MIPs for fluoroquinolones and their applications in water, food and biological samples were reviewed. The present review discusses the selection of all the elements of molecular imprinting for fluoroquinolones, polymerization processes and molecular recognition mechanisms. In conclusion, the related challenges and gaps are given to offer ideas for future research focussing on MIPs for fluoroquinolones.

Application of a thermo-sensitive imprinted SERS substrate to the rapid trace detection of ofloxacin

A novel composite (AgNPs-MIPs) was prepared by combining nano-silver particles with an ofloxacin (OFL) imprinted thermo-sensitive hydrogel. The thermo-sensitive optical properties of the composite were studied and it was used as a Raman substrate for the detection of ofloxacin. The results have shown that the position and intensity of the plasmon resonance absorption peak of the AgNPs-MIPs can be reversibly changed with the change of temperature, and the intensity of the ofloxacin Raman signal increases with the increase of temperature. Because the hydrogel combined Raman enhancement of silver nanoparticles, the selectivity of molecularly imprinted materials and the intelligent response of thermo-sensitive hydrogels, it can realize rapid, in situ, trace and selective detection of ofloxacin. Moreover, the detection limit can reach 10^-10 mol L^-1.

Sample treatment based on molecularly imprinted polymers for the analysis of veterinary drugs in food samples: a review

The use of veterinary drugs in medical treatments and in the livestock industry is a recurrent practice. When applied in subtherapeutic doses over prolonged times, they can also act as growth promoters. However, residues of these substances in foods present a risk to human health. Their analysis is thus important and can help guarantee consumer safety. The critical point in each analytical technique is the sample treatment and the analytical matrix complexity. The present manuscript summarizes the development, type of synthesis, characterization, and application of molecularly imprinted polymers in the separation, identification, and quantification techniques for the determination of veterinary drug residues in food samples in extraction, clean-up, isolation, and pre-concentration systems. Synthesized sorbents with specific recognition properties improve the interactions between the analytes and the polymeric sorbents, providing better analysis conditions and advantages in comparison with commercial sorbents in terms of high selectivity, analytical sensitivity, easy performance, and low cost analysis.

PEGylated Thermo-Sensitive Bionic Magnetic Core-Shell Structure Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Based on Halloysite Nanotubes for Specific Adsorption and Separation of Bovine Serum Albumin

Novel PEGylated thermo-sensitive bionic magnetic core-shell structure molecularly imprinted polymers (PMMIPs) for the specific adsorption and separation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) were obtained via a surface-imprinting technique. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM), fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FT-IR), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and specific surface area (BET), were adopted to demonstrate that novel PMMIPs were successfully synthesized. Subsequently, the prepared PMMIPs were used as the extractor for BSA and were combined with magnetic solid-phase extraction. The concentrations of BSA were detected by UV-vis spectrophotometry at 278 nm. The maximum adsorption capacity of the PMMIPs was 258 mg g⁻¹, which is much higher than that of non-imprinted polymer (PMNIPs). PMMIPs showed favorable selectivity for BSA against reference proteins, i.e., bovine hemoglobin, ovalbumin and lysozyme. PMMIPs were further used to recognize BSA in protein mixtures, milk, urine and sewage, these results revealed that approximately 96% of the ideal-state adsorption capacity of PMMIPs for BSA was achieved under complicated conditions. Regeneration and reusability studies demonstrated that adsorption capacity loss of the PMMIPs was not obvious after recycling for four times. Facile synthesis, excellent adsorption property and efficient selectivity for BSA trapping are features that highlight PMMIPs as an attractive candidate for biomacromolecular purification.

Molecularly Imprinted Phase-Change Microcapsule System for Bifunctional Applications in Waste Heat Recovery and Targeted Pollutant Removal

An innovative design of a molecularly imprinted phase-change microcapsule (MIM) system for bifunctional applications in waste heat recovery and targeted pollutant removal was reported in this work. This molecularly imprinted system was successfully constructed by encapsulating n-eicosane with a SiO₂ base shell through emulsion-templated interfacial polycondensation and then coating a molecularly imprinted polymeric layer with bisphenol A (BPA) as a template molecule through surface free-radical polymerization. The morphology, microstructure, and chemical structure of the resultant molecularly imprinted phase-change microcapsules (MIMs) were characterized, and their phase-change behavior, thermal energy-storage performance, and selective adsorption capability were investigated intensively. The MIMs developed in this study achieved an outstanding latent heat-storage capability with a high capacity more than 165 J/g and also showed an excellent phase-change reliability with a very small fluctuation in phase-change temperatures and enthalpies after 500 thermal cycles. Moreover, the MIMs also presented a high thermal stability over 200 °C and good shape stability up to 120 °C. Most of all, an effective specific recognition capability and high recognition efficiency were achieved for the MIMs due to the formation of BPA-molecular imprinting sites on their surface. As a result, the MIMs exhibited good adsorption selectivity toward the BPA molecules and satisfactory reusability for targeted removal of BPA with a removal efficiency of 61.7% after 10 cycles of the rebinding-elution procedure. In view of a smart combination of thermal energy-storage and selective adsorption functions, the MIMs developed in this study demonstrate a great potential in applications for waste heat recovery and targeted pollutant removal of industrial and domestic wastewaters.

Sensitive and Simple Competitive Biomimetic Nanozyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Colorimetric and Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Sensing of Triazophos

The biomimetic enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BELISA) is widely used for detection of small-molecule compounds as a result of low cost and reagent stability of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). However, enzyme labels used in BELISA still suffer some drawbacks, such as high production cost and limited stability. To overcome the drawbacks, a biomimetic nanozyme-linked immunosorbent assay (BNLISA) based on MIPs and nanozyme labels was first proposed. For nanozyme labels, platinum nanoparticles (PtNPs) acted as peroxidase by catalyzing the oxidation of colorless 3,3',5,5'-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) into an ideal surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) marker. Blue TMB²⁺ and bovine serum albumin (BSA)-hapten showed superior selectivity when competing with targets for binding sites on MIPs, named the Pt@BSA-hapten probe. The BNLISA method was employed to detect triazophos with a limit of detection of 1 ng mL^-1 via colorimetric and SERS methods. Replacing traditional enzymes with nanozymes for combination with MIPs may bring about a new prospect for other compound analyses.

A restricted access molecularly imprinted polymer coating on metal–organic frameworks for solid-phase extraction of ofloxacin and enrofloxacin from bovine serum

A restricted access molecularly imprinted polymer (RAMIP) crosslinked with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was prepared on the surface of the mesoporous UiO-66-NH₂ metal–organic framework (MOF). The surface morphology, imprinting behavior, and protein exclusion properties of UiO-66-NH₂@RAMIP@BSA were investigated. The maximum adsorption capacity was 50.55 mg g⁻¹ for ofloxacin, with a 99.4% protein exclusion rate. Adsorption equilibrium was reached in 9 min. Combined with RP-HPLC, a solid-phase extraction column filled with UiO-66-NH₂@RAMIP@BSA was used to selectively enrich and analyze ofloxacin and enrofloxacin antibiotics from bovine serum with recoveries of 93.7–104.2% with relative standard deviations of 2.0–4.5% (n = 3). The linear range and the limit of detection were 0.1–100 μg mL⁻¹ and 15.6 ng mL⁻¹, respectively. These results suggest that UiO-66-NH₂@RAMIP@BSA is an efficient pretreatment adsorbent for biological sample analysis.

A restricted access molecularly imprinted polymer (RAMIP) crosslinked with bovine serum albumin (BSA) was prepared on the surface of the mesoporous UiO-66-NH₂ metal–organic framework (MOF).

Dual-template molecularly imprinted polymers for dispersive solid-phase extraction of fluoroquinolones in water samples coupled with high performance liquid chromatography

Dual-template molecularly imprinted polymers were synthesized using norfloxacin and enrofloxacin as templates by precipitation polymerization with a multi-template imprinting strategy.

A nanocomposite optosensor containing carboxylic functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes and quantum dots incorporated into a molecularly imprinted polymer for highly selective and sensitive detection of ciprofloxacin

A nanocomposite optosensor consisting of carboxylic acid functionalized multiwall carbon nanotubes and CdTe quantum dots embedded inside a molecularly imprinted polymer (COOH@MWCNT-MIP-QDs) was developed for trace ciprofloxacin detection. The COOH@MWCNT-MIP-QDs were synthesized through a facile sol-gel process using ciprofloxacin as a template molecule, 3-aminopropylethoxysilane as a functional monomer and tetraethoxysilane as a cross-linker at a molar ratio of 1:8:20. The synthesized nanocomposite optosensor had high sensitivity, excellent specificity and high binding affinity to ciprofloxacin. Under optimal conditions, the fluorescence intensity of the optosensor decreased in a linear fashion with the concentration of ciprofloxacin and two linear dynamic ranges were obtained, 0.10-1.0 μg L^-1 and 1.0-100.0 μg L^-1 with a very low limit of detection of 0.066 μg L^-1. The imprinting factors of the two linear range were 17.67 and 4.28, respectively. The developed nanocomposite fluorescence probe was applied towards the determination of ciprofloxacin levels in chicken muscle and milk samples with satisfactory recoveries being obtained in the range of 82.6 to 98.4%. The results were also in good agreement with a HPLC method which indicates that the optosensor can be used as a sensitive, selective and rapid method to detect ciprofloxacin in chicken and milk samples.

Isocratic Resolution of Fluoroquinolone-Based Antibiotics on the Phenylethyl-Bonded Phase under Nonaqueous Elution: A Consideration of the Separation Mechanism

This paper reports the isocratic resolution of 10 fluoroquinolone-based antibiotics and their precursors on the phenylethyl-bonded phase under the elution of the nonaqueous mobile phase composed of acetonitrile, methanol, acetic acid, and triethylamine. Most of the analytes were baseline resolved within 10 minutes. The interaction simulation and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) data indicated that the carbonyl-containing group, a secondary or tertiary amine of an analyte, was heavily involved in the retention, resulting in retention with residual silanol groups on the stationary phase. In some cases, the elution reversal or resolution enhancement of analytes was observed when the volume of acidic or basic additive in the mobile phase was dominant. However, the π-π complexation interaction between the fluorine-attached phenyl group of the analyte and the phenylethyl moiety on the stationary phase was not observed. Consequently, the resolution could not be reproduced either on the other stationary phase modified with C₁₈, phenyl, or phenylhexyl moiety under the same chromatographic conditions or under the aqueous elution.

Preparation and evaluation of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers for the specific enrichment of phloridzin

In present study, magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MMIPs) were successfully prepared for specific recognition and selective enrichment of phloridzin from the leaves of Malus doumeri (Bois) A. Chev and rats' plasma. The magnetic Fe₃O₄ were prepared by the solvothermal reaction method and followed by the modification of TEOS and functionalization with APTES. Using functionalized Fe₃O₄ particles as the magnetic cores, phloridzin as template, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross-linker and 2,2-azobisisobutyonnitrile (AIBN) as initiator, the MMIPs were prepared through APTES to associate the template on the surface of the magnetic substrate. The structural features and morphological characterizations of MMIPs were performed by FT-IR, SEM, TEM, XRD, TGA and VSM. The adsorption experiments revealed that the MMIPs presented high selective recognition property to phloridzin. The selectivity experiment indicated that the adsorption capacity and selectivity of polymers to phloridzin was higher than that of baicalin and 2,3,5,4'-ttrahydroxy stilbene-2-O-β-D-glucoside. Furthermore, the MMIPs were employed as adsorbents for extraction and enrichment of phloridzin from the leaves of M. doumeri and rats' plasma. The recoveries of phloridzin in the leaves of M. doumeri ranged from 81.45% to 90.27%. The maximum concentration (C_max) of phloridzin in rats' plasma was detected as 12.19 ± 0.84μg/mL at about 15min after oral administration of phloridzin (200mg/kg). These results demonstrate that the prepared MMIPs are suitable for the selective adsorption of phloridzin from complex samples such as natural medical plants and biological samples.

Synthesis of sharply thermo and PH responsive PMA-b-PNIPAM-b-PEG-b-PNIPAM-b-PMA by RAFT radical polymerization and its schizophrenic micellization in aqueous solutions

Sharply thermo- and pH-responsive pentablock terpolymer with a core-shell-corona structure was prepared by RAFT polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide and methacrylic acid monomers using PEG-based benzoate-type of RAFT agent. The PEG-based RAFT agent could be easily synthesized by dihydroxyl-capped PEG with 4-cyano-4-(thiobenzoyl) sulfanylpentanoic acids, using esterification reaction. This pentablock terpolymer was characterized by 1H NMR, FT-IR, and GPC. The PDI was obtained by GPC, indicating that the molecular weight distribution was narrow and the polymerization was well controlled. The thermo- and pH-responsive micellization of the pentablock terpolymer in aqueous solution was investigated using fluorescence spectroscopy technique, UV-vis transmittance, and TEM. The LCST of pentablock terpolymer increased (over 50 °C) compared to the NIPAM homopolymer (~32 °C), due to the incorporation of the hydrophilic PEG and PMA blocks in pentablock terpolymer (PNIPAM block as the core, PEG the block and the hydrophilic PMA block as the shell and the corona). Also, pH-dependent phase transition behavior shows at a pH value of about ~5.8, according to pKa of MAA. Thus, in acidic solution at room temperature, the pentablock terpolymer self-assembled to form core-shell-corona micelles, with the hydrophobic PMA block as the core, the PNIPAM block and the hydrophilic PEG block as the shell and the corona, respectively.

In Vivo Selective Capture and Rapid Identification of Luteolin and Its Metabolites in Rat Livers by Molecularly Imprinted Solid-Phase Microextraction

A method based on molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction (MIP-SPME) coupled with liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (QTOF-MS/MS) was developed for the detection of luteolin and its metabolites in vivo. The MIP-SPME fibers were first fabricated by dopamine and silane, and then luteolin MIPs-coated fibers were successfully prepared using luteolin, acrylamide (AM), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the template, functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively. The characterizations of polymers were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller method (BET). The properties involving adsorption and selective experiments were evaluated, and these results revealed that MIP fibers presented high adsorption capacity and selectivity to luteolin. Furthermore, the developed MIP-SPME coupled with the LC-QTOF-MS/MS method was adopted to capture and identify luteolin and its metabolites in rat livers in vivo, and eventually, apigenin, chrysoeriol, and diosmetin were rapidly identified as metabolites.

Molecularly imprinted polymers for sample preparation and biosensing in food analysis: Progress and perspectives

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are biomimetics which can selectively bind to analytes of interest. One of the most interesting areas where MIPs have shown the biggest potential is food analysis. MIPs have found use as sorbents in sample preparation attributed to the high selectivity and high loading capacity. MIPs have been intensively employed in classical solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction. More recently, MIPs have been combined with magnetic bead extraction, which greatly simplifies sample handling procedures. Studies have consistently shown that MIPs can effectively minimize complex food matrix effects, and improve recoveries and detection limits. In addition to sample preparation, MIPs have also been viewed as promising alternatives to bio-receptors due to the inherent molecular recognition abilities and the high stability in harsh chemical and physical conditions. MIPs have been utilized as receptors in biosensing platforms such as electrochemical, optical and mass biosensors to detect various analytes in food. In this review, we will discuss the current state-of-the-art of MIP synthesis and applications in the context of food analysis. We will highlight the imprinting methods which are applicable for imprinting food templates, summarize the recent progress in using MIPs for preparing and analysing food samples, and discuss the current limitations in the commercialisation of MIPs technology. Finally, future perspectives will be given.

Molecular imprinting: perspectives and applications

This critical review presents a survey of recent developments in technologies and strategies for the preparation of MIPs, followed by the application of MIPs in sample pretreatment, chromatographic separation and chemical sensing.

Molecularly imprinted polymers for the solid-phase extraction of four fluoroquilones from milk and lake water samples

A method based on molecular crowding and ionic liquids as reaction solvents has been used for the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers. Levofloxacin was selected as the template, polymethyl methacrylate was the molecular crowding agent, and 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (ionic liquid) was selected as the reaction solvent and porogen. The optimized proportion for the mixed porogen was dimethyl sulfoxide/ionic liquid/polymethyl methacrylate 1:1.6:5 in chloroform (150 mg mL(-1) ). The morphology and chemical composition of levofloxacin imprinted polymers were assessed by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The absorption experiments demonstrated that the levofloxacin imprinted polymers possess high selective recognition property to levofloxacin and analogs, including enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin and gatifloxacin, which all belong to fluoroquinolones. An extraction method using levofloxacin imprinted polymers as sorbent followed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis was optimized for the determination of four fluoroquinolones in milk and lake water samples. Under the optimized conditions, good linearity was observed in a range of 5-1000 ng g(-1) with the limit of detection between 0.3 and 0.5 ng g(-1) for the four fluoroquinolones. The recoveries at three spiked levels ranged 82.4-98.3% with the relative standard deviation ≤4.9.

Spectrofluorimetric determination of ofloxacin in milk with N-(9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl)-L-alanine

It was found that N-(9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl)-L-alanine (F-Ala) could interact with ofloxacin (OFL) and enhance the fluorescence of OFL, which could be used to set up a new fluorescence spectrophotometry method to detect OFL without isolation procedure. The experimental conditions were discussed and when MeOH was used as solvent, 0.001 μg mL(-1) of OFL could be detected. For making the method could be used easily in milk samples, MeOH/H2O (v/v, 4:1, pH 4.1) was used as the optimal solvent condition, the limit of quantification of OFL could be reached 0.01 μg mL(-1) in milk samples with recovery more than 88% at least.