Rapid and efficient enantioseparation of (S)‐amlodipine by surface‐imprinted core–shell polymer microspheres

We present a protocol for the preparation of surface‐imprinted polymer microspheres by core–shell precipitation polymerization for the enantioseparation of (S)‐amlodipine. In this work, submicron mesoporous silica microspheres were prepared with gemini cationic surfactant as soft template. Molecularly imprinted polymers were coated on the silica supports with a low level of crosslinking, and the thickness of the thin‐walled imprinted shell was about 45 nm. The material showed fast binding kinetics for (S)‐amlodipine (within only 20 min for complete equilibrium), and the saturation adsorption capacity reached 309.2 mg/g, indicating the good accessibility of binding sites and improved mass transfer for target molecule. The imprinted microspheres exhibited an appreciable enantiomeric excess of (S)‐amlodipine of 11.3% when used as a glass chromatography column for the enantioseparation of (S)‐amlodipine from amlodipine besylate without extra chiral additives. The surface‐imprinted materials display potentially amplification for industrial enantioseparation of (S)‐amlodipine.