Preparation and application of molecularly imprinted polymer for isolation of chicoric acid from Chicorium intybus L. medicinal plant

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized and applied for the extraction of chicoric acid from Chicory herb (Chicorium intybus L.). A computational study was developed to find a suitable template to functional monomer molar ratio for MIP preparations. The molar ratio was chosen based on the comparison of the binding energy of the complexes between the template and functional monomers. Based on the computational results, eight different polymers were prepared using chicoric acid as the template. The MIPs were synthesized in a non-covalent approach via thermal free-radical polymerization, using two different polymerization methods, bulk and suspension. Batch rebinding experiments were performed to evaluate the binding properties of the imprinted polymers. The best results were obtained with a MIP prepared using bulk polymerization with 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP) as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the crosslinker with a molar ratio of 1:4:20. The best MIP showed selective binding ability toward chicoric acid in the presence of the template’s structural analogues, caffeic acid, caftaric acid and chlorogenic acid.     

吲哚美辛纳米胶体金分子印迹聚合物的制备及其在固相萃取中的应用

以吲哚美辛(IDM)为模板分子,丙烯酰胺(AA)为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯(EGDMA)为交联剂,本体聚合法制备过程中加入纳米胶体金,合成了吲哚美辛胶体金分子印迹聚合物(MIPs/Au),利用MIPs/Au表面胶体金对蛋白吸附作用,将抗吲哚美辛的多克隆抗体固定在MIPs/Au上,得到表面固定有抗体的新型聚合物(MIPs/Au-Ab)并对其进行了表征。制备了填充材料为MIPs/Au-Ab的固相萃取柱并对其上样、淋洗和洗脱条件进行了优化,并将所制备的新型萃取柱用于水样中IDM的分离富集。抗吲哚美辛抗体交联在聚合物表面,不仅增加了萃取柱的特异性吸附容量,而且有效地降低了MIP的非特异性吸附。     

Quercetin molecularly imprinted polymers: Preparation, recognition characteristics and properties as sorbent for solid-phase extraction

Molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared through thermal polymerization by using quercetin as the template molecule, acrylamide (AA) as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross-linker in the porogen of tetrahydrofuran (THF). The synthesized MIPs were identified by both Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Systematic investigations of the influences of key synthetic conditions, including functional monomers, porogens and cross-linkers, on the recognition properties of the MIPs were conducted. Scatchard analysis revealed that the homogeneous binding sites were formed in the polymers. Besides quercetin, two structurally similar compounds of rutin and catechol were employed for molecular recognition specificity tests of MIPs. It was observed that the MIPs exhibited the highest selective rebinding to quercetin. Accordingly, the MIPs were used as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent for the extraction and enrichment of quercetin in cacumen platycladi samples, followed by HPLC-UV analysis. The application of MIPs with high affinity and excellent stereo-selectivity toward quercetin in SPE might offer a novel method for the enrichment and determination of flavonoid compounds in the natural products.     

Computational Design and Fabrication of Enantioselective Recognition Sorbents for L-phenylalanine Benzyl Ester on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Using Molecular Imprinting Technology

Computational strategies have been employed to investigate the influence of the nature of monomers and cross-linker in order to design three dimensional imprinted polymers with selective recognition sites for L-phenylalanine benzyl ester(L-PABE) molecule.Here, computational chemistry methods were applied to screen the molar quantity of functional monomers that interact with one mole of the template molecule. Effects of the nature of functional monomer, cross-linker, and molar ratio were determined computationally using density functional calculations with B3LYP functional and generic 6-31G basis set. Methacrylic acid(MAA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate(EGDMA) were used as the functional monomer and crosslinking agent, respectively. L-PABE imprinted polymer layered on multiwalled carbon nanotube(MWCNT) and conventional bulk MIP were synthesised and characterized as well. To investigate the influence of pre-organization of binding sites on the selectivity of L-PABE, respective non-imprinted polymers were also synthesised.MWCNT-MIPs and MIPs exhibited the highest adsorption capacity towards L-PABE. The synthesized polymers revealed characteristic adsorption features and selectivity towards L-PABE in comparison with those of its enantiomer analogues.     

Isolation of sinapic acid from broccoli using molecularly imprinted polymers

A molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized for the purpose of sinapic acid isolation from Egyptian nutraceutical Botrytis italica, L. (broccoli) due to its prominent medicinal and wide pharmacological activities. A computational study was first developed to determine the optimal template to functional monomer molar ratio. Based on the computational results, five polymers were synthesized using a bulk polymerization method with sinapic acid as the template molecule. Evaluation of the synthesized polymers binding performance was carried out using batch rebinding assay, which revealed that the molecularly imprinted polymer of molar ratio (1:4:20), template to functional monomer (4‐vinyl pyridine) to crosslinker (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) was of optimum performance, thus, this polymer was applied for sinapic acid isolation from closely related analogues. This represents a more practical approach to isolate sinapic acid from different natural extracts selectively.     

Approaches to the rational design of molecularly imprinted polymers

In our experience the efficient design of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPs) for novel templates has proved difficult. Following commonly used imprinting protocols, MIPs designed against one template show both a lack of capacity and poor specificity for rebinding either the template or structurally similar analytes. Optimisation methods that involve changing one factor at a time can be laborious.A novel approach for the optimisation of MIPs using chemometrics is described. Sulfonamides, common drug residues in foodstuffs, were used as the model analytes with a methacrylic acid/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate MIP. To avoid the inaccuracies in measurement caused by template bleed a multi-analyte competition rebind assay was developed to select suitable sulfonamides to be used as the template for the MIP, and for the rebind analyte in the chemometric optimisation study. The rebinding efficiencies were monitored by HPLC. The template sulfonamide was selected as sulfamethazine (SMZ), and the rebind analyte as sulfadimethoxine (SDIM). The template:monomer:cross-linker (T:M:X) ratio of the SMZ block MIP was then optimised using a three-level full factorial design to predict a MIP with the highest rebind capacity. On synthesis this was 38.8% for SDIM in a solid phase extraction (SPE) application agreeing with the predication. The factorial design was further utilised to predict an optimum T:M:X ratio for the production of a class specific MIP, capable of binding a range of sulfonamides simultaneously. The predicted optimum T:M:X ratios of (1:10:55) and (1:10:10) were found to be different to commonly used ratios from the MIP literature.     

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers for the selective recognition of the bioactive polyphenol, (E)-resveratrol

(E)-Resveratrol imprinted polymers have been rationally designed with the aid of molecular modelling and NMR spectroscopic titration techniques to determine the optimal ratio of the template to functional monomer for polymer formation. Based on this approach, (E)-resveratrol imprinted polymers were prepared via non-covalent self-assembly with the functional monomer 4-vinylpyridine (4VP) in a 1:3 molar ratio. Polymerisation in the presence of a cross-linker resulted in rigid block copolymers that had selective capacities towards (E)-resveratrol (e.g. 14 μmol/g) when compared to the non-imprinted reference polymer. The selectivity of these MIPs was also examined using several structurally related polyphenolic compounds to determine the influence of polyphenolic hydroxyl number and position on binding and molecular recognition.     

Preparation and performance valuation of high selective molecularly imprinted polymers for malachite green

Molecular imprinting is a technology that facilitates the production of artificial receptors toward compounds of interest. In this study, we prepared a series of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) by precipitation polymerization for the purpose of binding specifically to malachite green (MG). The presence of monomer–template solution complexes in non-covalent MIPs systems had been verified by UV-spectrometric detection and molecular dynamics simulations. The synthesized parameters were, respectively, optimized and the optimal conditions for the efficient adsorption property were as follows: template: MG, 1 mmol; functional monomer: methacrylic acid (MAA), 8 mmol; cross-linker: ethylene glycol dimethacryllate, 16 mmol; and porogen: acetonitrile, 30 mL. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and nitrogen adsorption experiments were used to characterize the MIPs. Scatchard analysis was used for estimation of the dissociation constants and maximum amounts of binding sites. The polymer based on MAA had two classes of heterogeneous binding sites characterized by two values of K _D and B _max: K _D = 14.10 μmol L^?1 and B _max = 1.37 μmol g^?1 for the higher affinity binding sites, and K _D = 384.62 μmol L^?1 and B _max = 24.77 μmol g^?1 for the lower affinity binding sites. The specificity of MIPs on SPE column was evaluated by rebinding the other structurally similar compounds. The results indicated that the imprinted polymers exhibited an excellent stereo-selectivity toward MG.     

Probing cavity versus surface preference of fluorescent template molecules in molecularly imprinted polystyrene microspheres

Functional polystyrene (PS) crosslinked microbeads were developed by dispersion polymerization as fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) having cavities with specific recognition sites. The functional azobenzene molecule modified with pyridine was self‐assembled with Pyrenebutyric acid (template molecules), and introduced during the second stage of dispersion polymerization of polystyrene. The template molecule was removed from MIP by Soxhlet using acetonitrile as solvent. Non imprinted polymer (NIP) having no template was also synthesized for comparative study. Fluorescence spectroscopy could be used as a tool to derive insight into the location of the template molecules on the MIP or NIP. The template molecules were adsorbed on the surface of the NIPs during binding studies, which was evidenced from the pyrene excimeric emission observed at 440 nm. The template binding efficiency of the NIPs were much lower compared to MIPs. Pyrene emission from MIP upon rebinding showed typical monomeric emission in the 375–395 nm range, confirming its location in isolated cavities. In rebinding studies of the template molecules, the MIPs selectively took up the template for which the cavity was designed, which demonstrated their selectivity towards template molecules. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 1558–1565     

Towards ochratoxin A selective molecularly imprinted polymers for solid-phase extraction

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) displaying selective binding properties for the mycotoxin ochratoxin A (OTA) in polar/protic media were prepared. Crucial to the success of these efforts was the implementation of rationally designed OTA mimics as templates and a set of novel basic and neutral functional monomers, allowing the maximization of the template-functional monomer association via ion-pairing, hydrophobic and steric interactions. MIPs prepared with a 20:1:1:3 molar ratio of cross-linking agent, template mimic, basic functional monomer and hydrophobic auxiliary monomer produced polymers with superior recognition properties compared to materials generated with other stoichiometries. Chromatographic evaluation using the OTA mimics, OTA and a set of structurally closely related compounds as analytes revealed pronounced substrate selectivity of these MIPs in polar/protic media, the templates and OTA being bound with significantly higher affinities. Complementary substrate selectivities/affinities were observed in aprotic and apolar solvents. The possibility of solvent-dependent tuning of substrate selectivity/affinity and the high binding capacity recommend the developed MIPs as promising solid-phase extraction adsorbents for clean-up and pre-concentration of OTA from various biologically relevant matrices.     

Rational design of molecularly imprinted polymer: the choice of cross-linker

The paper describes a rational approach for the selection of cross-linkers during the development of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). As a model system for this research MIPs specific for the drug zidovudine (AZT) were designed and tested. Three cross-linkers trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were studied. The analogue of zidovudine (AZT) ester (AZT-ES) was used as a dummy template. The imprinting factors for all of the polymers in the static adsorption experiments were calculated. The data on the AZT adsorption by control polymers (CP), which were prepared with different cross-linkers without a functional monomer, was also analyzed. DVB was found to be more inert towards zidovudine than EGDMA and TRIM, which was confirmed by both molecular modelling and adsorption experiments. It was demonstrated that DVB-based polymers had a higher imprinting factor (I = 1.85) compared with other tested cross-linked polymers. It was suggested that the selection of the cross-linker should be based on the strength of the interaction with the template: the cross-linker which displays lower binding of the template should be preferential because it generates MIPs with lower non-specific binding and a higher imprinting factor, and therefore specificity. Which cross-linker to use for the preparation of any particular MIP can be determined by analysis of the interactions between the cross-linker and template. This could be done either virtually using computational modelling or by template adsorption using a small library of polymers prepared using different cross-linkers.     

槲皮素金属配位分子印迹聚合物的识别性能

以槲皮素与Zn(Ⅱ)的配合物为模板,在甲醇溶液中制备金属配位分子印迹聚合物.通过紫外光谱研究了槲皮素与Zn(Ⅱ)的配位方式及配位比,验证了槲皮素、Zn(Ⅱ)和4-乙烯基吡啶之间的三元配位作用.利用红外光谱对产物的结构进行了表征.用平衡结合实验考察了功能单体及交联剂用量对聚合物吸附性能的影响,优化了聚合物的反应配比.同时对系列印迹聚合物的识别体系进行了考察.结果表明,槲皮素-Zn(Ⅱ)模板印迹聚合物对槲皮素-Zn(Ⅱ)的配合物表现出明显的吸附选择性和特异性,对槲皮素结构类似物芦丁和柚皮素的吸附选择性较差,分离因子分别为3.21和1.91.     

芦丁-槲皮素双模板印迹聚合物的制备、表征及识别

以芦丁(RT)-槲皮素(QT)为混合模板分子制备了芦丁-槲皮素复合模板分子印迹聚合物。 优化了制备条件,研究了模板用量比、功能单体及交联剂用量对印迹聚合物吸附性能的影响。 用傅里叶红外光谱和扫描电镜对分子印迹聚合物进行结构表征。 探讨了分子印迹聚合物的吸附动力学、等温吸附及键合位点特征,考察了其选择识别性能,并以分子印迹聚合物为吸附介质,萃取分离芦丁粗提液中的目标化合物。 结果表明,当槲皮素与芦丁的摩尔比为3:2,且模板总量与功能单体及交联剂用量摩尔比为1:8:10时,所得分子印迹聚合物的吸附性能最好,对槲皮素和芦丁的吸附量分别达47.86和60.97 mg/g。 吸附可在3.5 h内达到平衡,显示了较快的吸附动力学。 Scatchard分析表明,分子印迹聚合物基体中存在四类不同性能的键合位点,分别为芦丁和槲皮素的高亲和键合位点及非选择键合位点。 相对分布系数(k=K_d(RT)/K_d(QT),K_d=q_e/ρ_e,K_d为分布系数,q_e为平衡吸附量,ρ_e为平衡质量浓度)大于1,表明了分子印迹聚合物对芦丁具有更高的选择键合作用,当模拟混合物中芦丁和槲皮素浓度分别为0.07和0.03 mmol/L时,相对分布系数和分离因子(α=q_e(RT)/q_e(QT))分别达6.669和25.02。 另外,以乙腈、甲醇及甲醇-醋酸混合物依次为洗脱剂,通过分子印迹固相萃取可从槐米提取物中分离芦丁和槲皮素两种黄酮类化合物,总回收率分别为96.70%和94.67%。     

Application of multivariate analysis to the screening of molecularly imprinted polymers for bisphenol A

A key issue in the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) is the identification and optimisation of the main factors that affect the material structure and its molecular recognition properties. This paper describes the application of an experimental design and multivariate analysis method for the synthesis of bisphenol A (BPA)-selective MIPs. Six factors with a large impact on the MIP synthesis and its analytical performance have been optimised: the amount of template, the type and the percentage of functional and cross-linking monomers, the polymerisation method (i.e. thermal or UV initiation) and the porogenic solvent. The polymers have been prepared in small-scale (mini-MIPs) and, after careful removal of the template, their BPA rebinding capacity has been evaluated and related to the MIP composition. Among the two functional monomers tested, namely 4-vinylpyridine (4-vpy) and methacrylic acid (MAA), the former rendered the best selectivity for BPA analysis. The partial least squares (PLS) models revealed that the photoinitiated polymers with a 1:1 ratio of 4-vinylpyridine to cross-linker (EDMA or TRIM) yield the highest specific binding. Such procedure is time and cost effective and can be used as a general tool in the preparation of MIPs for different analytes.     

Molecularly imprinted layer-coated monodisperse spherical silica microparticles toward affinity-enrichment of isoflavonoid glycosides from Radix puerariae

This paper reports the preparation of puerarin (PR) imprinted layer-coated silica microparticles toward selective recognition of PR and fast affinity-enrichment of the main isoflavonoid glycosides from the crude extract of Radix puerariae. Before the preparation, quantum mechanics (QM) method was applied to identify three kinds of common functional monomers capable of interaction with PR and then predicted optimal functional monomer (acrylamide, AA) and the relative molar ratio of template to functional monomer (PR/AA, 1:4). The obtained PR-imprinted silica microparticles were evaluated by transmission electron microscope (TEM) and rebinding experiments, exhibiting good morphology and high binding affinity to PR. Meanwhile, the rebinding amount of the imprinted microparticles to PR was nearly 2.1-folds that of non-imprinted microparticles. When the PR-imprinted microspheres were used as packing materials for solid-phase extraction, the recovery yields of PR, daidzin (DD) and genistin (GS) were simultaneously up to 90% by one-step extraction from the crude extract of Radix puerariae. Additionally, the PR-imprinted microparticles could be re-used for at least 5 times without losing any extraction efficiency. These results indicate that the PR-imprinted microparticles have highly selective adsorption capabilities to PR, DD and GS from the crude extract of Radix puerariae. The method of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) coupled with solid-phase extraction (SPE) provides a good solution of the enrichment and separation of active extracts from complicated traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) with certain structures.     

酚酞分子印迹聚合物的制备及特异吸附性能

以泻药酚酞为模板分子,4-乙烯基吡啶为功能单体制备了模板分子和功能单体不同比例的一系列酚酞分子印迹聚合物。利用扫描电镜对聚合物进行了表面形态分析,采用静态平衡实验法研究了聚合物对模板分子及其类似物的吸附行为和选择性识别能力。实验结果表明,所制备的分子印迹聚合物,吸附 3 h 后基本接近最大吸附量,其中模板分子、4-乙烯基吡啶和交联剂的摩尔比为 1∶6∶20的MIP2的印迹因子为 2.30,效果最佳。Scatchard 分析表明, 在所研究的浓度范围内,吸附过程存在两类结合位点,一类高亲和力结合位点的离解常数为Kd1= 0.63 mmol/L,最大表观结合量 Qmax1 = 25.4 umol/g,另一类低亲和力结合位点的离解常数为 Kd2 =3.5 mmol/L,最大表观结合量 Qmax2 = 61.9 umol/g,通过与酚酞类似物质在酚酞分子印迹聚合物上的吸附行为比较,表明对酚酞具有很好的选择性吸附。     

Monodispersed, molecularly imprinted polymers for cinchonidine by precipitation polymerization

Three monodispersed, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for cinchonidine (CD) have been synthesized by precipitation polymerization. MIP1 was prepared using methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer and divinylbenzene (DVB) as a cross-linker and MIP2 was prepared with further addition of 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as a co-monomer. For the preparation of MIP3, core-shell type MIP, monodispersed DVB homopolymers, which are prepared by precipitation polymerization, were used as a core and CD-imprinted MAA-DVB copolymer phases were coated onto the core. Three MIPs synthesized gave monodispersed, spherical beads in micrometer sizes. The binding characteristics and molecular recognition properties of MIP1-3 were examined by Scatchard analysis and chromatographic studies. The association constant of CD with MIP1 was the highest among MIPs prepared, while that with MIP3 was the lowest. The template molecule, CD, was more retained than its stereoisomer, cinchonine, on the three MIPs, and the stereoseparation factor of 38 was obtained with MIP3.     

Synthesis and Molecular Recognition of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer with Ibuprofen as Template

Ibuprofen and ketoprofen are chemically similar non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs widely used in the treatment of arthritis. Using a molecular imprinting technique, a simple and rapid method was developed for the simultaneous separation and determination of ibuprofen and ketoprofen. Molecular imprinting introduces artificial binding sites into a synthetic polymer matrix, allowing it to exhibit selective rebinding of template molecules. Imprinted polymers can be regarded as an HPLC stationary phase, important for pharmaceutical analysis. Most molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthesized by free radical polymerization of functional monomers, resulting in an excess of crosslinking monomers. In this study, MIPs have been prepared with a ibuprofen template, which can form intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were used as the functional monomer and cross‐linker, respectively. Bulk polymerization was carried out at 4 °C under UV radiation. The resulting MIP was ground into 25?44 μm particles, which were slurry‐packed into analytical columns. Template molecules were removed by methanol‐acetic acid (9:1, v/v). We evaluated the template binding performance of the MIP using HPLC, with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 234 nm. Chromatographic resolution of ibuprofen and ketoprofen on the MIPs were appraised using buffer/acetonitrile (45/55, v/v) as the mobile phase. Results show that the MIPs prepared using ibuprofen as the template had a significant molecular imprinting effect. The method was successfully applied to the separation and analysis of ibuprofen and ketoprofen in pharmaceuticals.     

Design of EGDMA‐Crosslinked Theophylline Imprinted Polymer with High Specificity and Selectivity

An attempt has been made to design theophylline selective polymers with maximum selectivity and specificity, and to relate the rebinding capacity of the polymers with the degree of crosslinking, as well as with the template‐monomer ratio. The theophylline imprinted and non‐imprinted polymers based on methacrylic acid as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinking agent (35–80 mol%) were prepared. The developed imprinted polymers were characterized by FT‐IR, ¹H and ¹³C‐NMR spectra. Equilibrium binding of theophylline by the imprinted and non‐imprinted polymers were investigated and optimized the conditions. Imprinted polymers showed specific binding of the template theophylline. Selectivity of the imprinted polymers was investigated towards caffeine and nicotine. Imprinted polymers showed specific and selective binding of theophylline, which varied with the degree of EGDMA crosslinking. Equilibrium rebinding experiments proved that imprinted polymer with moderate (70%) crosslinking with 1∶2 template‐functional monomer ratio is ideal with maximum specificity and selectivity.     

Chiral Resolution of Racemic 4-Phenyl(benzyl)-2-Oxazolidone by Use of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Polymers imprinted with (S)-4-phenyl-2-oxazolidone and (S)-4-benzyl-2-oxazolidone have been prepared by non-covalent imprinting. A combinational procedure was used to optimize the functional monomer and crosslinker. A copolymer of methacrylic acid and divinylbenzene resulted in the best chiral recognition. The ratio of template to functional monomer and solvent in the pre-polymerization mixture were also optimized. The imprinted polymers were used as stationary phases in high-performance liquid chromatography. The MIPs were more selective when prepared using a less polar solvent, except for toluene. Effective separations of the enantiomers of racemic 4-phenyl-2-oxazolidone and 4-benzyl-2-oxazolidone were achieved by use of acetonitrile as mobile phase; no cross-selectivity was observed. Interactions between functional monomers and template were investigated by ¹H NMR spectroscopy. The results suggest that hydrogen-bonding between the functional monomer and the template and π–π stacking interaction between the cross-linker and the template may contribute to chiral recognition.