Synthesis and application of a molecularly imprinted polymer in the solid-phase extraction of ketoprofen from wastewater

Ketoprofen is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug widely consumed by humans as it possesses analgesic activities. A selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for ketoprofen was synthesized and applied as a solid-phase extraction sorbent. MIP was synthesized using 2-vinylpyridine, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, 1,1′-azobis(cyclohexanecarbonitrile), toluene/acetonitrile (9:1, v/v), and ketoprofen as a functional monomer, cross-linker, initiator, porogenic mixture, and template, respectively. The polymerization was performed at 60 °C for 16 h, and thereafter the temperature was increased to 80 °C for 24 h to achieve a solid monolith polymer. Nonimprinted polymer was synthesized in a similar manner with the omission of ketoprofen. Characterization with thermogravimetric analysis and X-ray diffraction showed that the synthesized polymers were thermally stable and amorphous. Solid-phase extraction cartridges packed with MIP were used with high-performance liquid chromatography for quantitative analysis of ketoprofen in wastewater. The analytical method gave detection limits of 0.23, 0.17, and 0.09 μg/L in wastewater influent, effluent, and deionized water, respectively. The recovery for the wastewater influent and effluent spiked with 5 μg/L of ketoprofen was 68%, whereas 114% was obtained for deionized water. The concentrations of ketoprofen in the influent and effluent samples were in the ranges of 22.5–34.0 and 1.14–5.33 μg/L, respectively. Overall, the analytical method for the analysis of ketoprofen in wastewater was rapid, affordable, accurate, precise, sensitive, and selective.     

Synthesis by precipitation polymerisation of molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres for the selective extraction of carbamazepine and oxcarbazepine from human urine

Two molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), in the physical form of well-defined polymer microspheres, were synthesised via precipitation polymerisation (PP) using an antiepileptic drug, carbamazepine (CBZ), as template molecule, methacrylic acid as functional monomer and either divinylbenzene 80 (DVB-80) or a mixture of DVB-80 and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinking agents. The MIP obtained using DVB-80 alone as crosslinking agent (MIP A) had a narrow particle size distribution (9.5 ± 0.5 μm) and a well-developed permanent pore structure (specific surface area in the dry state = 758 m² g⁻¹), whereas when a mixture of DVB-80 and EGDMA (MIP B) were used as crosslinking agents, the polymer obtained had a broader particle size distribution (6.4 ± 1.8 μm) and a relatively low specific surface area (23 m² g⁻¹). The molecular recognition character of both polymers was evaluated by means of LC and then a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) protocol; CBZ was recognised by both polymers, and useful cross-selectivity for oxcarbazepine (OCBZ), which is the main metabolite of CBZ, also observed. In a detailed bioanalytical study, MIP A was selected in preference to MIP B since MIP A enabled a high volume of sample to be extracted such that lower limits of detection were achievable using this polymer. High recoveries of CBZ and OCBZ were obtained in a MISPE protocol when 50 mL of human urine spiked at 0.2 mg L⁻¹ were percolated through MIP A (90% and 83%, respectively).     

Solid-phase extraction using molecularly imprinted polymers for selective extraction of a mycotoxin in cereals

The aim of this work was to develop a method for the clean-up of a mycotoxin, i.e. Ochratoxin A (OTA), from cereal extracts employing a new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as selective sorbent for solid-phase extraction (SPE) and to compare with an immunoaffinity column. A first series of experiments was carried out in pure solvents to estimate the potential of the imprinted sorbent in terms of selectivity studying the retention of OTA on the MIP and on a non-imprinted polymer using conventional crushed monolith. The selectivity of the MIP was also checked by its application to wheat extracts. Then, after this feasibility study, two different formats of MIP: crushed monolith and micro-beads were evaluated and compared. Therefore an optimization procedure was applied to the selective extraction from wheat using the MIP beads. The whole procedure was validated by applying it to wheat extract spiked by OTA at different concentration levels and then to a certified contaminated wheat sample. Recoveries close to 100% were obtained. The high selectivity brought by the MIP was compared to the selectivity by an immunoaffinity cartridge for the clean-up of the same wheat sample. The study of capacity of both showed a significant higher capacity of the MIP.     

A new molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction of cotinine from urine samples by solid-phase extraction

Cotinine, the main metabolite of nicotine in human body, is widely used as a biomarker for assessment of direct or passive exposure to tobacco smoke. A method for molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) of cotinine from human urine has been investigated. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) with good selectivity and affinity for cotinine was synthesized using cotinine as the template molecule, methacrylic acid as the functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker. The imprinted polymer was evaluated for use as a SPE sorbent, in tests with aqueous standards, by comparing recovery data obtained using the imprinted form of the polymer and a non-imprinted form (NIP). Extraction from the aqueous solutions resulted in more than 80% recovery. A range of linearity for cotinine between 0.05 and 5 μg mL⁻¹ was obtained by loading 1 mL blank urine samples spiked with cotinine at different concentrations in acetate buffer of pH 9.0, and by using double basic washing and acidic elution. The intra-day coefficient of variation (CV) was below 7% and inter-day CV was below 10%. This investigation has provided a reliable MISPE–HPLC method for determination of cotinine in human urine from both active smokers and passive smokers. Figure     

Synthesis of surface molecularly imprinted polymer and the selective solid phase extraction of imidazole from its structural analogs

A surface molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized by using imidazole as the template and modified silica particles as the support material. The static adsorption, solid phase extraction (SPE) and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) experiments were performed to investigate the adsorption properties and selective recognition characteristics of the polymer for imidazole and its structural analogs. It was shown that the maximum binding capacities of imidazole on the MIP and the non-imprinted polymer (NIP) were 312 and 169 μmol g⁻¹, respectively. The adsorption was fast and the adsorption equilibrium was achieved in 30 min. The binding process could be described by pseudo-second order kinetics. Compared with the corresponding non-imprinted polymer, the molecularly imprinted polymer exhibited much higher adsorption performance and selectivity for imidazole. The selective separation of imidazole from a mixture of 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([C₆mim][Br]) and 2,4-dichlorophenol could be achieved on the MIP-SPE column. The recoveries of imidazole and [C₆mim][Br] were 97.6-102.7% and 12.2-17.3%, respectively, but 2,4-dichlorophenol could not be retained on the column. The surface molecularly imprinted polymer presented here may find useful application as a solid phase absorbent to separate trace imidazole in environmental water samples. This may also form the basis for our research program on the preparation and application of alkyl-imidazolium imprinted polymers.     

Synthesis and study of a molecularly imprinted polymer for specific solid‐phase extraction of vinflunine and its metabolite from biological fluids

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized in order to specifically extract vinflunine, an anticancer agent, and its metabolite (4‐O‐deacetylvinflunine) from bovine plasma and artificial urine by solid‐phase extraction (SPE). Vinorelbine, a non‐fluorinated analogue of vinflunine, was selected as a template for MIP synthesis. The selectivity of MIP versus the template (vinorelbine) and other alkaloids (catharanthine, vinblastine, vincristine, vinflunine and 4‐O‐deacetylvinflunine) was shown by a SPE protocol carried out with non‐aqueous samples. A second protocol was developed for aqueous samples with two consecutive washing steps (AcOH–NH₂OH buffer (pH 7, I=10 mM)–MeOH mixture 95:5 v/v and ACN–AcOH mixture 99:1 v/v) and an elution step (MeOH–AcOH mixture 90:10 v/v). Thus, MIP‐SPE of bovine plasma brought high recoveries, 81 and 89% for vinflunine and its metabolite, respectively. This protocol was slightly modified for artificial urine samples in order to obtain a good MIP/NIP selectivity; furthermore, elution recoveries were 73 and 81% for vinflunine and its metabolite, respectively. Repeatability was assessed in both biological matrices and RSD (%) were inferior to 4%. The MIP also showed a suitable linearity (r² superior to 0.99), between 0.25 and 10 μg/mL for plasma, and between 1 and 5 μg/mL for artificial urine.     

马拉硫磷分子印迹聚合物的制备及其在固相萃取中的应用

以马拉硫磷为模板分子,采用原位逐步聚合法制备了具有良好识别性能的分子印迹聚合物(MIPs),考察了马拉硫磷、甲基对硫磷、对硫磷及甲胺磷在马拉硫磷聚合物的选择性分离富集特性。用聚合物固相萃取了蜂蜜、蔬菜和天然水中的马拉硫磷。结果表明,聚合物对模板分子产生了印迹效应,对马拉硫磷有明显的选择性。流速为1.0 mL/min,进...     

Development of a selective molecularly imprinted polymer-based solid-phase extraction for indomethacin from water samples

A selective molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) for indomethacin (IDM) from water samples was developed. Using IDM as template molecule, acrylamide (AM) or methacrylic acid (MAA) as functional monomer, ethylene dimethacrylate (EDMA) as crosslinker, and bulk or suspension polymerization as the synthetic method, three molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized and characterized with a rebinding experiment. It was found that the MIP of AM-EDMA produced by bulk polymerization showed the highest binding capacity for IDM, and so it was chosen for subsequent experiments, such as those testing the selectivity and recognition binding sites. Scatchard analysis revealed that at least two kinds of binding sites formed in the MIP, with the dissociation constants of 7.8 μmol L⁻¹ and 127.2 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. Besides IDM, three structurally related compounds — acemetacin, oxaprozin and ibuprofen — were employed for selectivity tests. It was observed that the MIP exhibited the highest selective rebinding to IDM. Accordingly, the MIP was used as a solid-phase extraction sorbent for the extraction and enrichment of IDM in water samples. The extraction conditions of the MISPE column for IDM were optimized to be: chloroform or water as loading solvent, chloroform with 20% acetonitrile as washing solution, and methanol as eluting solvent. Water samples with or without spiking were extracted by the MISPE column and analyzed by HPLC. No detectable IDM was observed in tap water and the content of IDM in a river water sample was found to be 1.8 ng mL⁻¹. The extraction efficiencies of the MISPE column for IDM in spiked tap and river water were acceptable (87.2% and 83.5%, respectively), demonstrating the feasibility of the prepared MIP for IDM extraction. Figure Molecularly imprinted polymer-based solid-phase extraction for indomethacin     

Synthesis and application of a carbamazepine-imprinted polymer for solid-phase extraction from urine and wastewater

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) designed to enable the selective extraction of carbamazepine (CBZ) from effluent wastewater and urine samples has been synthesised using a non-covalent molecular imprinting approach. The MIP was evaluated chromatographically in the first instance and its affinity for CBZ also confirmed by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The optimal conditions for SPE consisted of conditioning of the cartridge using acidified water purified from a Milli-Q system, loading of the sample under basic aqueous conditions, clean-up using acetonitrile and elution with methanol. The attractive molecular recognition properties of the MIP gave rise to good CBZ recoveries (80%) when 100 mL of effluent water spiked with 1 μg L⁻¹ was percolated through the polymer. For urine samples, 2 mL samples spiked with 2.5 μg L⁻¹ CBZ were extracted with a recovery of 65%. For urine, the linear range was 0.05-24 mg L⁻¹, the limit of detection was 25 μg L⁻¹ and precision, expressed as relative standard deviation at 0.5 mg L⁻¹ (n = 3), was 3.1% and 12.6% for repeatability and reproducibility between days, respectively.     

Synthesis of surface molecularly imprinted silica micro-particles in aqueous solution and the usage for selective off-line solid-phase extraction of 2,4-dinitrophenol from water matrixes

Very severe reaction conditions are required in the conventional synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), which is unfavorable to their applications in chemical separation and analysis. A simple surface molecular imprinting approach was developed to synthesize MIP-coated SiO₂ micro-particles in aqueous solutions. The ¹H NMR and UV-vis spectroscopic analysis indicated that via hydrogen bonding, the functional monomer (o-phenylenediamine) can associate with the target (template) 2,4-dinitrophenol (2,4-DNP), as a model compound of organic pollutants, to form a precursor in aqueous solution. The copolymerization of this precursor and the free monomer was performed in the aqueous suspension of surface modified SiO₂ particles, leading to the formation of MIP-coated SiO₂ micro-particles. The MIP-coated silica particles were characterized with FT-IR, TGA, and UV-vis solid-state reflection spectroscopy, and were further demonstrated to have high adsorption capacity, excellent selectivity and site accessibility for 2,4-DNP. The new absorbent was successfully used in solid-phase extraction (SPE) to selectively enrich and determine 2,4-DNP in aqueous samples. The experimental results indicated that the MIP-SPE column yielded recoveries higher than 92% with R.S.D. <2.8%, much better than the commercial C₁₈-SPE column, which produced a recovery less than 30% with R.S.D. <3.0%.     

Selective solid-phase extraction of amoxicillin and cephalexin from urine samples using a molecularly imprinted polymer

In this paper we describe, for the first time, a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the antibiotic amoxicillin (AMX), synthesised by a noncovalent molecular imprinting approach and used to extract AMX selectively from urine samples. The MIP was applied as a molecularly selective sorbent in molecularly imprinted SPE (MISPE) in an off-line mode, where it showed useful cross-selectivity for a structurally related antibiotic, cephalexin (CPX). By using a MISPE protocol, the MIP was able to selectively extract both AMX and CFX from 5 mL of water spiked with 10 mg/L with recoveries of 75 and 78% for AMX and CFX, respectively. When applied to real samples (urine) at clinically relevant concentrations, recoveries from 2 mL of human urine spiked with 20 mg/L decreased slightly to 65 and 63% for AMX and CFX, respectively. To demonstrate further the selectivity of the MIP obtained, a comparison with commercially available SPE cartridges was performed. Improvements in the retention of both AMX and CFX on the MIP were obtained relative to the commercially available cartridges, and the MISPE extracts were considerably cleaner, due to molecularly selective analyte binding by the MIP.     

Selective extraction of derivates of p-hydroxy-benzoic acid from plant material by using a molecularly imprinted polymer

Selective SPE of derivates of p-hydroxybenzoic acid (pHBA) from plant extract of Melissa officinalis is presented using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) made with protocatechuic acid (PA) as template molecule. MIP was prepared with acrylamide as functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinking monomer and ACN as porogen. MIP was evaluated towards six phenolic acids: PA, gallic acid, pHBA, vanillic acid (VA), gentisic acid (GeA) and syringic acid (SyrA), and then steps of molecularly imprinted SPE (MISPE) procedure were optimized. The best specific binding capacity of MIP was obtained for PA in ACN (34.7 microg/g of MIP). Other tested acids were also bound on MIP if they were dissolved in this solvent. ACN was chosen as solvent for sample application. M. officinalis was extracted into methanol/water (4:1, v/v), the extract was then evaporated to dryness and dissolved in ACN before application on MIP. Water and ACN were used as washing solvents and elution of benzoic acids was performed by means of a mixture methanol/acetic acid (9:1, v/v). pHBA, GA, PA and VA were extracted with recoveries of 56.3-82.1% using this MISPE method. GeA was not determined in plant extract.     

尼泊金乙酯分子印迹固相萃取小柱的研制及应用

研制了一种对尼泊金乙酯具有特异性识别性能的分子印迹固相萃取小柱。用本体聚合法制备尼泊金乙酯分子印迹聚合物,通过静态平衡吸附实验及固相萃取实验表征其固相萃取性能,并结合UV法对滴眼液中的尼泊金乙酯进行测定。结果显示,尼泊金乙酯模板聚合物的吸附能力强于空白聚合物;印迹固相萃取柱对尼泊金乙酯标准溶液(0.04mmol/L)一...     

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction followed by liquid chromatographic determination of sitagliptin in rat plasma and urine

A novel water-compatible molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) combined with zwitterionic hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (ZIC-HILIC) method for selective extraction and determination of sitagliptin in rat serum and urine was developed and validated. The effects of progenic solvents, pH, cross linker and amount of monomer were studied to optimize the efficiency and selectivity. The adsorption kinetics and isotherms were measured. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) showed good specific adsorption capacity with an optimum of 180 mg/g at pH 7.5 and selective extraction of sitagliptin from rat plasma and urine. The recovery of sitagliptin from rat urine and plasma was >98%. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) were 0.03 and 0.10 μg/L respectively. The proposed method overcomes the matrix effects of phospholipids generally encountered while preparation of plasma samples by precipitation of proteins.     

Development of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective extraction of bisphenol A in water samples

A cross‐linked methacrylate molecularly imprinted polymer (poly‐4‐vinylpyridine‐co‐trimethylolpropane‐trimethacrylate) selective for bisphenol A (BPA) was synthesized, using a fluorinated BPA derivative (4,4′‐(hexafluoroisopropylidene)‐diphenol) as a mimic template, and applied to the analysis of real‐world samples of process and potable waters. The molecularly imprinted polymer also showed a high affinity and selectivity for 17‐β‐estradiol and ethynylestradiol. A method to analyze BPA, 17‐β‐estradiol, and ethynylestradiol at ultratrace levels was thus developed from a screening procedure to monitor endocrine‐disrupting chemicals in water samples. The method consists of the BPA‐selective cleanup by molecularly imprinted SPE using cartridges packed with the polymer developed, its recovery by stir bar sorptive extraction after ad hoc derivatization to obtain the corresponding BPA‐acetate, and its analysis by GC‐time window‐SIM‐MS after online thermal desorption. The method showed good linearity in the working range (R²=0.9969), high repeatability (RSD% <10.1), recoveries always above 90%, and very low LOD (10 pg/L) and LOQ (1 ng/L) and can easily be extended to the determination of 17‐β‐estradiol and ethynylestradiol ultratraces. The method's effectiveness was evaluated by analyzing the real‐world water samples; it enabled preconcentration and detection of BPA at ultratrace levels.     

Synthesis and application of a T-2 toxin imprinted polymer

The synthesis of a T-2 toxin imprinted polymer and its application in food analysis are reported for the first time. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective recognition of T-2 toxin (T-2) was synthesized by bulk polymerization. Methacrylamide and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate were applied as functional monomer and cross-linker, respectively. Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) procedures were optimized for further application in the analysis of T-2. Scatchard plot analysis revealed that two classes of imprinted binding sites were formed in the imprinted polymer. The dissociation constant (K_D) of the higher affinity binding sites was 7.0 μmol/l, while the K_D of the lower affinity binding sites was 54.7 μmol/l. The performance of the MIP throughout the clean-up of spiked maize, barley and oat sample extracts was compared with the results obtained when using non-imprinted polymer, OASIS HLB^® and immunoaffinity columns (IAC). Depending on the food matrix and the spiked concentration, recoveries after MISPE and non-imprinted solid-phase extraction varied respectively from 60% to 73% and from 21% to 57%. Recoveries obtained after clean-up using OASIS HLB^® and IAC were in the range of 74–104% and 60–85%, respectively. Although highest recoveries were obtained with OASIS HLB^® sorbents, the designed MIP and the IAC were superior regarding selectivity, cross-reactivity, matrix effect, limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantification (LOQ). Depending on the matrix, LOD after MISPE ranged from 0.4 μg/kg to 0.6 μg/kg and LOQ from 1.4 μg/kg to 1.9 μg/kg. LOD and LOQ after OASIS HLB^® clean-up varied from 0.9 μg/kg to 3.5 μg/kg and from 3.1 μg/kg to 11.7 μg/kg, respectively. The LOD and LOQ values obtained with IAC were in the range of 0.3–2.3 μg/kg and 1.0–7.7 μg/kg, respectively. Analysis of 39 naturally contaminated samples (maize, barley and oat) by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry revealed that the MIP could be an excellent alternative for clean-up of contaminated food samples.     

选择性提取单取代磺酰脲除草剂的印迹聚合物的合成及评价

以丙烯酰胺为功能单体合成了新型的单嘧磺隆印迹聚合物,用平衡吸附及液相色谱的方法研究了印迹聚合物对于印迹分子及其结构类似化合物NK#94827的识别特性及亲和能力.研究结果表明,以丙烯酰胺为功能单体得到的印迹聚合物对NK#94827具有较强的识别能力;为印迹聚合物应用于环境样品中NK#94827及其结构类似化合物的分析打下了基础.     

Rational design and synthesis of water-compatible molecularly imprinted polymers for selective solid phase extraction of amiodarone

Novel water-compatible molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) selective for amiodarone (AD) were designed via a new methodology which relies on screening library of non-imprinted polymers (NIPs). The NIP library consisted of eighteen cross-linked co-polymers synthesized from monomers commonly used in molecular imprinting. The binding capacity of each polymer in the library was analyzed in two different solvents. Binding in water was used to assess non-specific (hydrophobic) interactions and binding in an appropriate organic solvent was used to assess specific interactions. A good correlation was found between the screening tests and modeling of monomer–template interactions performed using computational approach. Additionally, analysis of template–monomer interactions was performed using UV–vis spectroscopy. As the result, 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) was selected as the best monomer for developing MIP for AD. The 4-VP-based polymers demonstrated imprinting factor equal 3.9. The polymers performance in SPE was evaluated using AD and its structural analogues. The recovery of AD was as high as 96% when extracted from spiked phosphate buffer (pH 4.5) solution and 82.1% from spiked serum samples. The developed MIP shown as a material with specific binding to AD, comparing to its structural analogues, 1-(2-diethylaminoethoxy)-2,6-diiodo-4-nitrobenzene and lidocaine, which shown 9.9% and 25.4% of recovery from the buffer solution, correspondingly. We believe that the screening of NIP library could be proposed as an alternative to commonly used computational and combinatorial approaches.     

Selective solid-phase extraction using molecularly imprinted polymer for the analysis of polar organophosphorus pesticides in water and soil samples

An analytical methodology for the analysis of four polar organophophorus pesticides (monocrotophos, mevinphos, phosphamidon, omethoate) in water and soil samples incorporating a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) process using a monocrotophos-imprinted polymer was developed. Binding study demonstrated that the polymer showed excellent affinity and high selectivity to monocrotophos. The MISPE procedure including the clean-up step to remove any interferences was optimized. The accuracy and selectivity of the MISPE process developed were verified using a non-imprinted (blank) polymer and a classical ENVI-18 cartridge as the SPE matrix during control experiments. The use of MISPE improved the accuracy and precision of the GC method and lowered the limit of detection. The recoveries of four polar organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) extracted from 1 L of river water at a 100 ng/L spike level were in the range of 77.5-99.1%. The recoveries of organophosphorus pesticides extracted from a 5-g soil sample at the 100 microg/kg level were in the range of 79.3-93.5%. The limit of detection varied from 10 to 32 ng/L in water and from 12 to 34 microg/kg in soil samples. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) enabled the selective extraction of four organophosphorus pesticides successfully from water and soil samples, demonstrating the potential of molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction for rapid, selective, and cost-effective sample pretreatment.     

Development of a molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction sorbent for the selective extraction of telmisartan from human urine

A novel molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction with spectrofluorimetry method has been developed for the selective extraction of telmisartan from human urine. Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared by a noncovalent imprinting approach through UV‐radical polymerization using telmisartan as a template molecule, 2‐dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross‐linker, N,N‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator, chloroform as a porogen. Molecularly imprinted polymers and nonimprinted control polymer sorbents were dry‐packed into solid‐phase extraction cartridges, and eluates from cartridges were analyzed using a spectrofluorimeter. Limit of detection and limit of quantitation values were 11.0 and 36.0 ng/mL, respectively. A very high imprinting factor (16.1) was achieved and recovery values for the telmisartan spiked in human urine were in the range of 76.1–79.1%. In addition, relatively low within‐day (0.14–1.6%) and between‐day (0.11–1.31%) precision values were obtained. Valsartan was used to evaluate the selectivity of sorbent as well. As a result, a sensitive, selective, and simple molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction with spectrofluorimetry method has been developed and successfully applied to the direct determination telmisartan in human urine.