Preparation of ellagic acid molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres based on distillation–precipitation polymerization for the efficient purification of a crude extract

Molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres with a high recognition ability toward the template molecule, ellagic acid, were synthesized based on distillation–precipitation polymerization. The as‐obtained polymers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis. Static, dynamic, and selective binding tests were adopted to study the binding properties and the molecular recognition ability of the prepared polymers for ellagic acid. The results indicated that the maximum static adsorption capacity of the prepared polymers toward ellagic acid was 37.07 mg/g and the adsorption equilibrium time was about 100 min when the concentration of ellagic acid was 40 mg/mL. Molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres were also highly selective toward ellagic acid compared with its analogue quercetin. It was found that the content of ellagic acid in the pomegranate peel extract was enhanced from 23 to 86% after such molecularly imprinted solid‐phase extraction process. This work provides an efficient way for effective separation and enrichment of ellagic acid from complex matrix, which is especially valuable in industrial production.