Determination of trace rotenone by UV-Vis spectrophotometry using molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres

Novel molecularly imprinted polymer microspheres for rotenone were synthesized. It is capable to adsorb rotenone from aqueous solutions. Combined with the molecularly imprinted polymer micro-spheres, conventional UV-visible spectrophotometry can be effective in determination of rotenone. The experimental conditions were discussed. Under optimum conditions, it was found that the peak of rotenone absorbance is at 298 nm. Rotenone can be determined in the range of 1–200 μg/L, the detection limit for rotenone is 0.5 μg/L. The relative standard deviation for determination of 20 μg/L of rotenone was 2.8%. The method was applied to the determination of rotenone in water samples with satisfactory results.