Sensitive Molecularly Imprinted Fluorescence Determination of Pyrethroids using Green Zinc Oxide Quantum Dots

Pyrethroids are similar to the natural pyrethrins produced by the flowers of pyrethrums that are effective insecticides but with potential toxicity. Here, a novel core–shell fluorescence probe for pyrethroids was prepared by precipitation polymerization. ZnO quantum dots and cyhalothrin were used as the substrate and template, respectively. Due to the formation of reversible specific recognition sites during copolymerization in the presence of acrylamide and ethyl glycol dimethacrylate, ZnO-based molecularly imprinted polymers containing cyhalothrin recognition sites were obtained. Transmission electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy were used to characterize the resulting ZnO-based imprinted polymers. The polymer microspheres were used to sensitively and selectively determine cyhalothrin. In addition, a linear relationship between the concentration of cyhalothrin and the fluorescence intensity was obtained from 0 to 80 µmol L^?1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9964 using the Stern–Volmer equation. The protocol was used for the determination of cyhalothrin in milk demonstrating the suitability of the methodology for practical sample analysis. The selective and sensitive fluorescence recognition, low production cost, and facile synthesis demonstrate attractive properties of ZnO-based molecularly imprinted polymers for specific molecule recognition.     

A Novel Method for the Detection of Chlorpyrifos by Combining Quantum Dot-labeled Molecularly Imprinted Polymer with Flow Cytometry

Uniform-sized fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared by one-step swelling and suspension polymerization, while chlorpyrifos, methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, and oil-soluble CdSe/ZnS quantum dots were used as the carrier, template molecule, functional monomer, cross-linker, and fluorophor, respectively. The morphology, adsorption dynamics, binding ability, and selectivity of quantum dot-labeled molecularly imprinted polymers were evaluated. The dosage of quantum dots for labeling the molecularly imprinted polymers was optimized. The results showed that the optimized dose of quantum dots was 200?µL using a concentration of 8.0?µM. The microsphere size was approximately 10?µm with a honeycombed surface. The quantum dot-labeled molecularly imprinted polymers had an even brightness and a high selectivity. In the presence of different concentrations of chlorpyrifos, a decrease in the fluorescence intensity of the quantum dot-labeled molecularly imprinted polymer was clearly identified by flow cytometry. The whole detection process was accomplished within 2?h including pretreatment. This method was used for the determination of chlorpyrifos in tap water samples.     

Optical Determination of Cholesterol in Milk with Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Coated Quantum Dots

Fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated CdSe/ZnS quantum dots were prepared in an efficient one-step synthesis. Their application as fluorescent nanoparticles for the direct quantification of cholesterol in milk was characterized. The quantum dots were used as cores to produce fluorescence. The molecularly imprinted polymer shells provided specific binding sites for cholesterol. The system exhibited good linearity for cholesterol from 0.5 to 150?µg?mL^?1, a low detection limit of 0.15?µg?mL^?1, and acceptable reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 4.2% for six replicates. The molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots were used to determine cholesterol in fortified milk. Recoveries were from 87.0 to 105.2% and a possible mechanism is proposed. The fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymer-coated quantum dots exhibited excellent selectivity and provide a simple, rapid, selective, and effective analytical approach.     

Photodegradation of chlorophenolic compounds using zinc oxide as photocatalyst: experimental and theoretical studies

Zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized via the sol?Cgel method. The structures of the obtained nanoparticles were investigated by X-ray diffraction. The photocatalytic degradation of chlorophenolic compounds, namely 2-chlorophenol (CP), 2,4-dichlorophenol (DCP) and 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP), was carried out using ZnO nanoparticles under solar intensity of 20?C26?W?m^?2. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of TCP?<?DCP?<?CP was found. The adsorption energies of the chlorophenolic compounds with ZnO catalyst were calculated from quantum chemical molecular dynamic model and found to increase in the order of TCP?<?DCP?<?CP.     

Rapid detection of malachite green in fish with a fluorescence probe of molecularly imprinted polymer

A fluorescent probe based on CdTe/CdS quantum dots coated with molecularly imprinted polymer shell was designed. The fluorescence emission of the probe was at 622?nm. The probe presented selective adsorption for malachite green and the adsorption caused fluorescence quenching due to fluorescence resonance energy transfer. A linear relationship ranging from 0.05 to 10?μmol·L^?1 between relative fluorescence quenching intensities and malachite green concentrations was obtained with a detection limit of 0.029?μmol·L^?1. The fluorescent probe was successfully applied to the determination of malachite green in fish with recoveries ranging from 93.3 to 107.7%.     

2,4,6-三氯酚分子印迹光子晶体水凝胶传感器的研究

以SiO2三维光子晶体为模板,2,4,6-三氯酚为印迹分子,甲醇为溶剂,甲基丙烯酸为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸甲酯为交联剂,通过紫外光引发聚合,在2%氢氟酸溶液中去除光子晶体模板,0.015 mol/L NaOH溶液中洗脱印迹分子,制得2,4,6-三氯酚检测用分子印迹光子晶体水凝胶传感器。结果表明,传感器对2,4,6-三氯酚具有良好的响应与识别能力,在2,4,6-三氯酚浓度由0增加到6×10-4 mol/L过程中,吸收峰红移31 nm;浓度继续增加,吸收峰开始发生蓝移;当浓度增加到1×10-3 mol/L时,吸收峰蓝移56 nm,响应时间仅需要30 min。2,4,6-三氯酚分子印迹光子晶体水凝胶传感器具有高灵敏、高选择、易操作等优点,可实现对2,4,6-三氯酚的裸眼检测。     

Preconcentration of Nicotinamide Using Molecularly Imprinted Microspheres for Solid-phase Extraction with Determination by High-performance Liquid Chromatography

The determination of target molecules in complicated matrices such as biological samples is largely dependent on sample pretreatment. Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (SPE), using molecularly imprinted polymers as the adsorbent, has been demonstrated to be effective for the selective enrichment of target molecules in biological samples. In this study, molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres were fabricated by two-step swelling polymerization using polystyrene particles as seeds, nicotinamide as the template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker. The molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres were packed into empty SPE cartridges, and the spiked urine and serum samples were loaded separately. After an initial washing and elution step, the effluents were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using 1:9 methanol/0.05% phosphoric acid. The obtained molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres were uniform, and the spherical particles were well distributed. The established method was validated, and the results showed that the method was linear from 0.499 to 19.96?µg?mL^?1. The limits of detection and quantification for nicotinamide were 0.3 and 0.9?µg?mL^?1, respectively. The relative standard deviations were 1.55 and 2.86% in urine and serum, respectively. The spiked recoveries of nicotinamide were 86.0–98.8% and 87.0–96.8% in urine and serum, respectively. The molecularly imprinted SPE and HPLC methods in this study are useful for the pretreatment and determination of the target compounds in these matrices.     

基于铕配合物的荧光分子印迹的制备及其选择性检测痕量2,4,6-三氯苯酚

设计并制备了用于检测2,4,6-三氯苯酚的荧光分子印迹。由于铕配合物对模板分子的荧光淬灭作用,可用于荧光检测工具。荧光分子印迹在模板分子浓度范围0~70 nmol·L~(-1)内具有良好的荧光线性响应,相关系数为0.996 28。荧光分子印迹展现出了良好的灵敏度,其最低检出限为3.12 nmol·L~(-1)。荧光分子印迹具有较好的热稳定性,同时选择性检测实验证明荧光分子印迹对2,4,6-三氯苯酚具有良好的特异选择性。实验结果说明荧光分子印迹可用于选择性荧光检测低浓度氯酚类物质。     

Selective Electrochemical Determination of Salicylic Acid in Wheat Using Molecular Imprinted Polymers

Salicylic acid is a phytohormone, playing crucial roles in signal transduction, crop growth, and development, and defense to environmental challenges. In this study, a highly selective electrochemical sensor was designed and used to determine salicylic acid using molecularly imprinted polymers for recognition. The electrochemical sensor was fabricated via stepwise modification of gold nanoparticle–graphene–chitosan and molecularly imprinted polymers on a glassy carbon electrode. With electrochemical deposition, a gold nanoparticle–graphene–chitosan film was deposited on the glassy carbon electrode and enhanced the sensitivity. Molecularly imprinted polymers with adsorbed template salicylic acid were added to the surface of the modified electrode. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to characterize the modified electrodes. Salicylic acid in wheat was quantified by the sensor using the molecularly imprinted polymer/gold nanoparticle–graphene–chitosan/glassy carbon electrode. Concentrations of salicylic acid from 5?×?10^?10 to 5?×?10^?5?mol?L^?1 were determined showing that the developed sensor was suitable for the analysis of food.     

A new molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction and pre‐concentration of guaifenesin in different samples: Adsorption studies and kinetic modeling

This paper describes the synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer by chemical oxidation of pyrrole as the functional monomer, and at the presence of guaifenesin as the template. The prepared polymer was used as adsorbent in molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction followed by spectrophotometric determination. Different parameters in the solid‐phase extraction including sample pH, adsorbent weight, washing solution, and elution solvent were studied to determine optimum conditions for isolation and enrichment of guaifenesin. The results showed guaifenesin was quantitatively adsorbed on the molecularly imprinted polymer at pH 6.0 and completely eluted with an ethanol–water solution (50% v/v). An enrichment factor of four with satisfactory recoveries (87.0–95.0%) was obtained. The solid‐phase extraction columns could be used for up to six consecutive elution‐loading cycles without significant decreases in the analyte recoveries. The method had a dynamic range of 3.0 × 10^?6–1.5 × 10^?4 mol/L with a limit of detection and limit of quantification of 1.4×10^?6 and 4.5×10^?6 mol/L, respectively. The proposed procedure was used for the extraction and determination of guaifenesin in different pharmaceutical formulations, with satisfying results being achieved.     

Computational simulation and preparation of fluorescent magnetic molecularly imprinted silica nanospheres for ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin sensing

A magnetic molecularly imprinted fluorescent sensor for the sensitive and convenient determination of ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin in human urine was synthesized and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X‐ray diffraction, ultraviolet/visible spectroscopy, and fluorescence spectroscopy. Both cadmium telluride quantum dots and ferroferric oxide nanoparticles are introduced into the polymer for the rapid separation and detection of the target molecules. The synthesized molecularly imprinted polymers were applied to detect ciprofloxacin or its structural analog norfloxacin in human urine with the detection limit 130 ng/mL. A computational study was developed to evaluate the template–monomer geometry and interaction energy in the polymerization mixture to determine the reaction molar ratio of the template and monomer molecules.     

Determination of β-Agonists in Porcine Urine by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Based Chemiluminescence

Isoprenaline was used as the template to synthesize a molecularly imprinted polymer that was able to simultaneously recognize ten β-agonists. The simulation showed that the three-dimensional conformation of the template was the main factor responsible for the polymer’s recognition. The polymer particles were coated in the wells of a conventional microplate as the recognition reagent to prepare a chemiluminescence sensor. The light signal was initiated with a highly effective bis(2,4,6-trichlorophenyl) oxalate-H₂O₂-imidazole system. The assay contained only one sample-loading step followed by immediate data acquisition, so one measurement was complete within 12?min. The sensor was used to determine the ten analytes in porcine urine. The results showed that the senor achieved ultrahigh sensitivity, with limits of detection from 2.0 to 7.0?pg/mL, high recoveries from 78.6% to 99.4%, and satisfactory recycle performance up to seven times. This is the first study reporting a molecularly imprinted polymer based microtiter chemiluminescence sensor for the determination of β-agonists.     

Dummy Fragment Template Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Selective Solid-phase Extraction of Gonyautoxins from Seawater

A multitemplate molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized using fragments similar to gonyautoxins 1 and 4 including 2,4,6-triaminopyrimidine, 4-hydroxy-2-butanone, and imidazole as dummy templates by bulk polymerization. Scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy showed a porous structure and the formation of organic groups in the imprinting process of the polymer. One millilitre of 0.1?mol?L^?1 acetic acid and 1?mL of 95% methanol were the optimized washing and eluting solutions during the molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction. The adsorption capacity of the multitemplate molecularly imprinted polymer was lower than for the monotemplate molecularly imprinted polymer prepared in a previous study in seawater in which Alexandrium tamarense and Alexandrium minutum were cultivated. This result may due to the inappropriate combination of the dummy template fragments in the synthesis resulting in the unfitness of the imprinting sites for gonyautoxins 1 and 4. In general, it is inappropriate to use fragments with the similar parts to the analyte as the dummy templates. However, this work indicated the optimal molecularly imprinted polymer for the selective extraction of gonyautoxins 1 and 4.     

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers by atom transfer radical polymerization for the solid‐phase extraction of phthalate esters in edible oil

Novel molecularly imprinted polymers of phthalate esters were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization using methyl methacrylate as functional monomer, cyclohexanone as solvent, cuprous chloride as catalyst, 1‐chlorine‐1‐ethyl benzene as initiator and 2,2‐bipyridyl as cross‐linker in the mixture of methanol and water (1:1, v/v). The effect of reaction conditions such as monomer ratio and template on the adsorption properties was investigated. The optimum condition was obtained by an orthogonal experiment. The obtained polymers were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The binding property was studied with both static and dynamic methods. Results showed that the polymers exhibited excellent recognition capacity and outstanding selectivity for ten phthalate esters. Factors affecting the extraction efficiency of the molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction were systematically investigated. An analytical method based on the molecularly imprinted coupled with gas chromatography and flame ionization detection was successfully developed for the simultaneous determination of ten phthalate esters from edible oil. The method detection limits were 0.10–0.25 μg/mL, and the recoveries of spiked samples were 82.5–101.4% with relative standard deviations of 1.24–5.37% (n = 6).     

Sensitive and Selective Electrochemical Sensor Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polypyrrole Hybrid Nanocomposites for Tetrabromobisphenol A Detection

Abstract

A sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor based on electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polypyrrole and gold nanoparticles–multiwalled carbon nanotubes (AuNPs–MWCNTs) hybrid nanocomposites was developed for the determination of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). A glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was modified with MWCNTs, and the AuNPs–MWCNTs/GCE was prepared by an electrodeposition method in HAuCl₄ solution. The AuNPs–MWCNTs nanocomposite showed high electrocatalytic activity, good conductivity, and sufficient reactive sites for the direct electro-oxidation of TBBPA. The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as recognition elements were synthesized through in situ electro-polymerization of pyrrole as functional monomers in the presence of the TBBPA template molecules. Under the optimal conditions, the developed sensor exhibited good selectivity towards TBBPA compared with structural analogs, high sensitivity, and excellent producibility. The electrochemical responses of the sensor toward TBBPA were obtained in the linear range from 0.5?nM to 1?μM with a limit of detection equal to 0.24?nM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3.     

Computer‐assisted design and synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers for the simultaneous determination of six carbamate pesticides from environmental water

The computer‐assisted design and synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers for the simultaneous capture of six carbamate pesticides from environmental water are reported in this work. The quantum mechanical computational approach was employed to design the molecularly imprinted polymers with carbofuran as template. The interaction energies between the template molecule and different functional monomers in various solvents were calculated to assist in the selection of the functional monomer and porogen. The optimised molecularly imprinted polymer was subsequently used as a class‐selective sorbent in solid‐phase extraction for pre‐concentration and determination of carbamates from environmental water. The parameters influencing the extraction efficiency of the molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction procedure were systematically investigated to facilitate the class‐selective extraction. For the proposed method, linearity was observed over the range of 2–500 ng/mL with the correlation coefficient ranging from 0.9760 to 1.000. The limits of detection ranged from 0.2 to 1.2 ng/mL, and the limit of quantification was 4 ng/mL. These results confirm that computer‐assisted design is an effective evaluation tool for molecularly imprinted polymers synthesis, and that molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction can be applied to the simultaneous analysis of carbamates in environmental water.     

聚邻氨基苯硫酚/纳米金复合膜分子印迹传感器测定2, 4-二氯苯酚

在2,4-二氯苯酚(2,4-DCP)存在下, 在金电极表面自组装邻氨基苯硫酚(oATP)并电聚合oATP/金纳米粒子, 制得2,4-DCP印迹复合膜电化学传感器.采用循环伏安法和交流阻抗技术对传感器制备过程进行了表征, 以K₃Fe(CN)₆为探针, 间接对2,4-DCP进行定量分析.结果表明, 2,4-DCP在5.0×10^-8~1.2×10^-4 mol/L 浓度范围内与K₃Fe(CN)₆示差脉冲伏安曲线的峰电流呈线性关系(R²=0.9964), 检出限为1.5×10^-8 mol/L(S/N=3).该印迹传感器可在几种氯代酚干扰下选择性测定2,4-DCP.利用该传感器对环境水样进行加标回收检测, 回收率为95.2%~109.3%.     

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.     

Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Preconcentration of 4-Chlorophenol with Determination by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography

A novel magnetic dummy molecularly imprinted polymer based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes was prepared with 2-amino-4-chlorophenol as the dummy template for rapid separation and enrichment of 4-chlorophenol in aqueous samples. The magnetic dummy molecularly imprinted polymer was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The saturation adsorption capacity of the magnetic dummy molecularly imprinted polymer toward 4-chlorophenol was up to 54.3?mg?g^?1 at 298?K, which is higher than for previously reported imprinted polymers. The magnetic dummy molecularly imprinted polymers were coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography to isolate and determine 4-chlorophenol in fish bile and river water with the recoveries from 95.8 to 98.9% and 96.6 to 99.1%, respectively.     

One-bath synthesis of hydrophilic molecularly imprinted quantum dots for selective recognition of chlorophenol

A simple one-bath strategy has been developed to synthesize a novel CdTe@SiO₂@MIP（molecularly imprinted and silica-functionalized CdTe quantum dots,MISFQDs）,in which a silica shell was coated on the surface of CdTe quantum dots （CdTe@SiO₂ QDs） and then a polymer for selective recognition of 4-chlorophenol（4-CP） was constructed on the surface of CdTe@SiO₂ QDs using mercaptoacetic acid as stabilizer,3-aminopropyl-trimethoxysilane（APTES） as functional monomers and tetraethoxysilane（TEOS） as crosslink agent.The structures of CdTe@SiO₂@MIP were analyzed by ultraviolet-visible absorption. Fluorescence,FT-IR spectrum and powder X-ray diffraction.The application and characterization of the CdTe@SiO₂@MIP were investigated by experiments.All results indicated that the CdTe@SiO₂@MIP can selectively recognize 4-chlorophenol.