Characterization and application of polypropylene films modified with stimuli‐sensitive copolymers with an Ar‐plasma postpolymerization technique

Surface‐modified polypropylene (PP) films with thermally and photochemically sensitive copolymers consisting of N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) and 4‐(4‐methoxyphenylazo)phenyl methacrylate (MPAP), poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAP)‐g‐PP (abbreviated g‐PP) film, were prepared by graft copolymerization with an Ar‐plasma postpolymerization technique. The surfaces of the g‐PP films were characterized by means of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy; the percentage grafting of poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAP) with a number‐average molecular weight of 3.28 × 10⁴ was 7.12%, and the molar ratio of HPMA–MPAH in the copolymer was 0.75:0.25. The stimuli‐sensitive adsorption of albumin and polystyrene microspheres on the g‐PP film was also measured. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 143–148, 2003     

Synthesis and characterization of poly(HPMA)‐APMA‐DTPA‐99mTc for imaging‐guided drug delivery in hepatocellular carcinoma

To develop a theranostic agent for diagnostic imaging and treatment of  hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), poly(HPMA)‐APMA‐DTPA‐^99mTc (HPMA: N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl methacrylamide; APMA: N‐(3‐aminopropyl)methacrylamide; DTPA: diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid) and DTPA‐^99mTc were synthesized and characterized, and their HCC targeting was tested by in vitro cellular uptake and in vivo tumor imaging in this study. Radioactivity of HCC cells incubated with poly(HPMA)‐APMA‐DTPA‐^99mTc was significant higher (16.40%) than that of the cells incubated with DTPA‐^99mTc (2.98%). Scintigraphic images of HCC in mice obtained at 8 h after injection of poly(HPMA)‐APMA‐DTPA‐^99mTc showed increased radioactivity compared with that in mice injected with DTPA‐^99mTc. The results of postmortem tissue radioactivity assay demonstrated higher radioactivity of HCC tumor tissues (2.69 ± 0.15% ID/g) from the tumor‐bearing mice injected with poly(HPMA)‐APMA‐DTPA‐^99mTc compared with that of HCC tumor tissues in the tumor‐bearing mice injected with DTPA‐^99mTc (0.83 ± 0.03 %ID/g), (P <0.001). These results first directly confirm the significant passive hepatocellular tumor targeting of HPMA copolymer. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Designing and preparing of quercetin surface‐imprinted material and its molecular recognition characteristics

Quercetin is an important compound of flavonoids. In this work, quercetin molecule surface‐imprinted material with high performance was prepared using a novel surface‐imprinting technique of “synchronously graft‐polymerizing and imprinting.” The modified micron‐sized silica gel particles containing amino groups were used as matrix, methacrylic acid (MAA) was used as functional monomer, and N,N′‐Methylenebisacrylamide (MBA) was used as crosslinker. In dimethyl formamide solution of quercetin, MAA molecules arranged automatically around the template quercetin molecule by right of hydrogen bonding interactions of two type, ordinary hydrogen bond and π‐type hydrogen bond. By initiating the surface‐initiating system of – , the graft/cross‐linking polymerization of MAA on SiO₂ particles and the quercetin molecule surface‐imprinting were simultaneously carried out, forming quercetin molecule surface‐imprinted material MIP‐PMAA/SiO₂. With another two flavonoids, rutin and genistein, as contrasting substances, the molecule recognition character of the quercetin molecule surface‐imprinted material MIP‐PMAA/SiO₂ was investigated with batch and column methods. The experimental results show that the imprinted material MIP‐PMAA/SiO₂ possesses special recognition selectivity and excellent binding affinity for quercetin molecule. The binding capacity of MIP‐PMAA/SiO₂ for quercetin is 0.325 mmol/g, and its selectivity coefficients for quercetin relative to rutin and genistein are 7.69 and 4.40, respectively. The main conditions of imprinting process affect the property of MIP‐PMAA/SiO₂ greatly, and the optimal molar ratio of monomer MAA to crosslinker MBA is 7 : 1 and appropriate molar ratio of monomer MAA to template quercetin is equal to 6 : 1. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 41112.     

Computer simulation and synthesis of stimuli‐responsive polymer by sol‐gel for selective recognition of (4‐chloro‐2‐methylphenoxy)acetic acid

A novel photoresponsive functional monomer bearing a siloxane polymerizable group and azobenzene moieties was synthesized, and then photoresponsive molecularly imprinted sol‐gel polymers were successfully fabricated from the synthesized functional monomer, using (4‐chloro‐2‐methylphenoxy)acetic acid (MCPA) as a molecular template. The photoisomerization properties of the functional monomer are retained after incorporation into the rigid three‐dimensional crosslinked polymer matrix. The template is then removed from the resulting polymer to generate pores, which are complementary to the template in shape, size and functionality. The substrate affinity of the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) receptor sites is photoswitchable. This can be attributed to the photoisomerization of azobenzene chromophores within the MIP receptors, resulting in alteration of their geometry and the spatial arrangement of their binding functionalities. The binding affinity of the imprinted recognition sites was switchable by alternate irradiation with UV and visible light, suggesting that azobenzene groups located inside the binding sites could be used as chemical sensors and the trans–cis isomerization could regulate the affinity for MCPA. To study the hydrogen bond interactions between template molecules and functional monomer, computational molecular modeling was employed. The data indicate that the design of the MIP is rational. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry     

Molecular imprinted solid‐phase extraction of huperzine A from Huperzia Serrata

On the basis of the non‐covalent interaction between template and monomer, porous molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized by a thermal‐initiated polymerization method using huperzine A as template, acrylamide, or methacrylic acid as function monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross‐linking agent. The interaction between template and functional monomers was studied by UV spectrophotometry, which showed a formation of huperzine A‐monomer complexes with stoichiometric ratio of 1 : 2 in the pre‐polymerized systems. The resultant MIP particles were tested in the equilibrium binding experiment to analyze their adsorption ability to huperzine A, and were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) study. The recognition properties of MIP were estimated in solid‐phase extraction by selecting four compounds (isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata) as substrates, and were compared with and prior to those of the NIP. High affinity and adsorption of MIP1 which was prepared in chloroform with huperzine A as imprinted molecule, and acrylamide (AM) as functional monomer, made an attractive application of MIP1 in separation processes. In final, using MIP1 solid‐phase extraction micro‐column, huperzine A was enriched and separated from the real extraction sample of Huperzia serrata. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Preparation of (S)‐ibuprofen‐imprinted polymer and its molecular recognition study

Two molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared using (S)‐ibuprofen as the template molecule as well as methacrylic acid (MAA) or 4‐vinylpyridine and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the functional monomer and crosslinker, respectively. Free radical polymerization was carried out at 4°C under ultraviolet (UV) radiation. The MIPs thus obtained were ground into 25–44 μm, which were slurry packed into analytical columns. The template molecules were removed by acetic acid/methanol solution (1:9, v/v). high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), with UV detection, was used to evaluate the binding performance of the MIP for the template. The selectivity of (S)‐ibuprofen and naproxen on the host–guest system were assessed using acetonitrile‐based mobile phases. The limits of detection of ibuprofen and naproxen were found to be 0.1844 mmol/L and 0.3264 mmol/L, while the limits of quantitation were 0.6262 mmol/L and 1.0909 mmol/L, respectively. The stationary phase was applied successfully to the commercial tablet analysis. Ibuprofen and naproxen were extracted from tablets with acetonitrile; analysis results showed a good relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.81–1.24% and accuracy from ?4.01 to +2.98% for ibuprofen as well as an RSD of 0.59–0.86% and accuracy from ?4.01 to ?2.01% for naproxen. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2972–2979, 2006     

RAFT-derived polymer-drug conjugates: poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylamide) (HPMA)-7-ethyl-10-hydroxycamptothecin (SN-38) conjugates

A series of well‐defined polymer–drug conjugates were prepared in order to modify the physical properties of a known cytotoxic drug, 7‐ethyl‐10‐hydroxycamptothecin (SN‐38), the active metabolite of irinotecan (CPT‐11). Reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerisation was used to covalently and site‐specifically append a defined N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) polymer to SN‐38 using a graft‐from process. These poly‐HPMA–SN‐38 conjugates displayed excellent aqueous solubility and stability, whilst retaining the cytotoxic activity of the parent SN‐38. In vitro co‐culture assays containing both cancer and noncancer cell lines demonstrated the specificity of RAFT‐derived poly‐HPMA–SN‐38 conjugates for cancerous cells. The concept of post‐optimisation modification of small‐molecule drugs through a graft‐from polymer conjugation method is introduced.     

N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide‐based polymer conjugates with pH‐controlled activation of doxorubicin. I. New synthesis,physicochemical characterization and preliminary biological evaluation

New method of synthesis of water‐soluble polymer‐drug conjugates, exhibiting remarkable anticancer activity in mice models, has been developed. In the conjugates, an anticancer drug doxorubicin (DOX) is attached to a polymer carrier based on N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl)methacrylamide (HPMA) copolymer via a hydrolytically labile hydrazone bond. New methacrylamide‐type comonomers, containing either hydrazide group or hydrazon of DOX, were used for copolymerization with HPMA. In contrast to the synthetic procedure described earlier the new method is simpler, cheaper, and results in a better‐defined conjugate structure. The conjugates are fairly stable in buffer at pH 7.4 (model of blood stream) but release DOX under mild acid conditions modeling the tumor microenvironment. The conjugates showed significant in vivo antitumor activity in treatment of T‐cell lymphoma EL‐4 bearing mice with up to 100% long‐term survivors. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Computer simulation and preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer membranes with chlorogenic acid as template

A computational approach was developed for screening functional monomers for rational design of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) membranes. It was based on a comparison of the binding energy of complexes between a template and various functional monomers. According to the results of theoretical calculations, MIP membranes with chlorogenic acid as a template were prepared with a UV irradiation polymerization method, using 4‐vinylpyridine as a functional monomer and N,N′‐methylenebisacrylamide as a crosslinker, with poly(vinylidene fluoride) microfiltration membranes as the support. Membranes covered with a thin layer of imprinted polymer selective to chlorogenic acid were then obtained and tested using the equilibrium‐adsorption method. The high affinity of these synthetic membranes to chlorogenic acid, together with their straightforward and inexpensive preparation, provides a good basis for the development of applications of imprinted polymers in separation processes such as solid‐phase extraction. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

N‐acetyl‐D‐galactosamine‐specific lectin isolation from soyflour with poly(HPMA‐GMA) beads

Soybean lectin was purified from seeds of Glycine max L.Merrill SA88. Poly(hydroxypropyl methacrylate‐glycidyl methacrylate) [poly(HPMA‐GMA)] beads were used as an affinity matrix and N‐acetyl‐D ‐galactosamine (GalNAc) was used as an affinity ligand. Soybean lectin adsorption with GalNAc attached poly(HPMA‐GMA) beads from soybean lectin solution (in phosphate buffered saline) was 5.0 mg/g. Maximum adsorption capacity for soybean lectin from the soy flour extract was 26.0 mg/g. Elution of soybean lectin from adsorbent was accomplished by 0.5M galactose solution. Purity of soybean lectin was determined by SDS‐PAGE. It was observed that soybean lectin could be repeatedly adsorbed and desorbed with GalNAc‐attached poly(HPMA‐GMA) beads. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Characterization of photo‐ and thermoresponsible amphiphilic copolymers having azobenzene moieties as side groups

Two series of amphiphilic copolymers, poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAP) I–V with n = 0.05–0.29 of the molar ratio of MPAP and poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAH)‐I–V with n = 0.05–0.23 of the molar ratio of MPAH, were prepared by radical copolymerization of N‐(2‐hydroxypropyl) methacrylamide (HPMA) with azo‐monomers such as 4‐(4‐methoxyphenylazo) phenyl methacrylate (MPAP) and 6‐[4‐(4‐methoxyphenylazo) phenoxy] hexyl methacrylate (MPAH) using 2,2′‐azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator. Self‐organization of these copolymers in water was confirmed by disappearance of the proton signal of the methoxyazobenzene in ¹H‐NMR spectra measured in the solvent system of D₂O and CD₃OD. It was also found from the λ_max, located near 344 nm, that azobenzene groups self‐organized to form the dimeric chromophore type of aggregate. The aqueous solutions of poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAP) and poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAH) exhibited the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) from at 68 to 40°C and from at 70 to 52°C in the dark state, respectively, with increasing the molar ratios of azo‐monomers. On the other hand, the LCST measured in the photostationary state showed the higher temperature by 2–4°C compared with that in the dark state. It was found that the adsorption of poly(HPMA‐co‐MPAP)‐V (n = 0.29) on polystyrene microspheres was photoregulated. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 81: 3056–3063, 2001     

A molecularly imprinted polymer via a salicylaldiminato‐based cobalt(III) complex: A highly selective solid‐phase extractant for anionic reactive dyes

A novel molecularly imprinted polymer based on tert‐butyl acrylate (MIP‐BA) was fabricated with the assistance of a cobalt(III)‐based catalyst bearing an N‐salicylidene isopropylamine ligand [(SPA)₂CoCl]. After initiation with methyl aluminoxane, the catalyst system was found to be active toward the polymerization of tert‐butyl acrylate (t‐BA) in the presence of a polar template (Cibacron reactive red dye) and divinylbenzene (DVB) as a crosslinker. Polymerization experiments, including those of t‐BA, t‐BA, and DVB and t‐BA and dye, were also carried out. Isolated blank polymers and MIP‐BA were analyzed with a variety of techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, gel permeation chromatography, infrared spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic resonance, and ultraviolet–visible spectroscopy. In general, the complex showed moderate polymerization activity and produced high‐molar‐mass poly(tert‐butyl acrylate); however, a decrease in the monomer conversion was observed upon the addition of the dye and/or the crosslinker. The effect of imprinting was obvious when the adsorption capacity of MIP‐BA measured at pH 6 for red dye (the imprinted molecule) was increased from 9.2 to 90.4 mg/g after imprinting. Competitive adsorption studies revealed that the dye‐imprinted polymer enabled the efficient uptake of red dye, even in the presence of blue and yellow dyes that had similar chemical structures to the imprinted molecule. The selectivity coefficients were 43 and 36 with respect to the blue and yellow dyes, respectively. The proposed polymerization procedure could be extended to other anionic polar reactive dyes and polar reactive polymers. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted microspheres for recognition of trans‐aconitic acid

In the presence of a template molecule, trans‐aconitic acid and, using acetonitrile as solvent and dispersing medium, monodispersed microspheres with a diameter of 600–700 nm bearing molecularly imprinted binding sites were prepared by precipitation polymerization. It was found that the concentrations of template, monomer, and crosslinking agent as well as the chemical structure of the template greatly affect the polymer configuration. Microspheres are produced only when the concentration of the template molecule and the functional monomer are finely tuned. Comparison with the performance of a conventional imprinted polymer monolith showed that the imprinted microsphere had obvious advantages in specific binding to template molecule. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 94: 542–547, 2004     

Transport selectivity of tribenuron‐methyl imprinted polymer nanowire membrane prepared using N,O‐bismethacryloyl ethanolamine as a functional crosslinking monomer

Using tribenuron‐methyl as a template and N,O‐bismethacryloyl ethanolamine as a functional crosslinking monomer, a molecularly imprinted nanowire membrane was prepared over an anodic alumina oxide membrane. The nanowire fabric of the imprinted membrane was established with a scanning electron microscope and a transmission electron microscope. However, the nonimprinted particulate membrane is formed in the absence of a template. Scatchard analysis showed that an equal class of binding sites were formed in the imprinted nanowire membrane and the dissociation constant and the maximum number of these binding sites were estimated to be 1.44 × 10⁻⁵ M and 22.7 µmol/g, respectively. The permeation experiments throughout the imprinted membrane and the nonimprinted one were carried out in a solution containing the template and its competitive analogs. These results demonstrated that the molecularly imprinted nanowire membrane exhibited higher transport selectivity for the template tribenuron‐methyl than its analogs, chlorimuron‐ethyl, thifensulfuron‐methyl and N‐(4‐bromophenylcarbamoyl)‐5‐chloro‐1H‐benzo[d]imidazole‐2‐carboxamide. But the nonimprinted granular membrane had no permselectivity for the four substrates. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Molecularly imprinted polymer membranes for substance‐selective solid‐phase extraction from aqueous solutions

Thin‐layer molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) composite membranes for selective binding of monocrotophos (MCP) pesticide from aqueous solutions were developed. The procedure was based on commercially available membrane modules that were rinsed with prepolymerization imprinting mixtures. After the in situ polymerization and generation of MIP films on the membranes within the modules, the membranes were evaluated in terms of affinity toward the target molecule MCP. MIP membranes with different porogens and different monomers on Nylon‐6 membranes were prepared. It was shown that MIP membranes synthesized with methacrylic acid as monomer and toluene as porogens on the Nylon‐6 membranes provided a highly selective binding of MCP from aqueous solutions under the optimized elution conditions. With the novel surface modification technique, the low nonspecific binding properties of the microfiltration membrane could successfully be combined with the receptor properties of molecular imprints, yielding substance‐specific MIP composite membranes. The high affinity of these synthetic membranes to MCP pesticide together with their straightforward and inexpensive preparation could be applied in a fast preconcertration step, solid‐phase extraction, by a simple microfitration for the determination of MCP in water. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 4468–4473, 2006     

Binding behavior of Fe3+ ions on ion‐imprinted polymeric beads for analytical applications

We used a molecular imprinting approach to achieve specific metal binding utilizing N‐methacryloyl‐(L )‐cysteine methyl ester (MAC) as a metal‐complexing ligand. MAC was synthesized using methacryloyl chloride and cysteine methyl ester. Then, Fe³⁺ was complexed with MAC monomer. Fe³⁺‐imprinted poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate‐N‐methacryloyl‐(L )‐cysteine methyl ester) [poly(HEMA‐MAC)] beads with average size of 63–140 μm were produced by suspension polymerization. After that, the template ions (i.e. Fe³⁺ ions) were removed by 0.1M HCl. Fe³⁺‐imprinted beads were characterized by swelling studies, FTIR, and elemental analysis. The Fe³⁺‐imprinted beads with a swelling ratio of 72%, and containing 3.9 mmol MAC/g were used in the binding of Fe³⁺ ions from aqueous solutions, tap water, certified reference serum sample, and real serum sample. Maximum binding capacity, optimum pH, and equilibrium binding time were 107 μmol/g, pH 3.0, and 30 min, respectively. It was observed that even in the presence of other ions, Fe³⁺‐imprinted beads selectively bound Fe³⁺ ions with 97% efficiency. Removal of Fe³⁺ ions from certified reference serum sample was approximately found to be 33%. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 3520–3528, 2006     

Synthesis and characterization of 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid imprinted polymers

Eight molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP1–MIP8) were synthesized with different functional monomers and porogens using 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) as a template. Thermal, radical bulk polymerization was employed in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross‐linker. A computational analysis indicated that complexes with four molecules of 4‐vinylpyridine, 1‐vinylimidazole and acrylonitrile had high positive enthalpies of formation. The polymers synthesized with these monomers showed an imprinting factor below 1. Polymer MIP8 synthesized with allylamine as the functional monomer, with the highest energy of interaction with DOPAC, was characterized by the highest imprinting factor equal to 1.91. Examination of the binding ability of DOPAC and a group of structurally related compounds showed that the strong interactions between amine groups in the polymer and carboxylic groups in the analyte governed the recognition mechanism. The Langmuir adsorption model and the pseudo‐second‐order mechanism properly evaluated the MIP8 and non‐imprinted polymer 8 adsorption characteristics. Scatchard analysis revealed that MIP8 had two classes of heterogeneous binding sites with K_d(1) = 0.12 µmol L^?1 and K_d(2) = 1.46 µmol L^?1. Finally, the potential application of MIP8 for separation of DOPAC was demonstrated. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

Molecularly imprinted polymers for the selective recognition of l‐phenylalanine based on 1‐buty‐3‐methylimidazolium ionic liquid

To enhance the affinity of 4‐vinyl pyridine to l ‐phenylalanine (l ‐Phe) and convert the imprinting process from the aqueous phase to the organic phase, an oil‐soluble amino acid ionic liquid was introduced as a template. In this study, 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium α‐aminohydrocinnamic acid salt was first applied to prepared surface molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in acetonitrile for the selective recognition of l ‐Phe. Fluorescence quenching analysis of the functional monomer on the template was investigated under different conditions to study the imprinting mechanism. Several binding studies, such as the sorption kinetics, sorption thermodynamics, and solid‐phase extraction application, and the chiral resolution of racemic phenylalanine were investigated. The binding isotherms were fitted by nonlinear regression to the Freundlich model to investigate the recognition mechanism. The affinity distribution analysis revealed that polymers imprinted by ionic liquid showed higher homogeneous binding sites than those imprinted by l ‐Phe. The competition tests were conducted by a molecularly imprinting solid‐phase extraction procedure to estimate the selective separation properties of the MIPs for l ‐Phe. The target MIP was shown to be successfully for the separation of l ‐Phe from an amino acid mixture. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42485.     

3,3′‐Diindolylmethane imprinted polymers: synthesis,characterization and analytical procedure for template isolation from biological matrix

A novel sorbent for the separation of 3,3′‐diindolylmethane (DIM) has been developed. DIM was used as a template molecule to prepare twelve imprinted polymers from seven different functional monomers in six various porogens in the presence of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a crosslinker. The binding capacity showed that the highest binding specificity was achieved when allylamine as the monomer and carbon tetrachloride as the porogen were used to form bulk polymers. Binding capacities were 130.4 ± 2.8 µg g^?1 for imprinted MIP7_a polymer versus 49.03 ± 0.44 µg g^?1 for non‐imprinted NIP7_a polymer. An imprinting factor of 3.12 reflected the high specificity of MIP7_a. A solid‐phase extraction protocol was fully optimized. Two methanol–water systems were selected as the most effective for loading and washing steps, while acetonitrile was chosen as the most efficient eluent suitable for recovery of 91.7 ± 3.8% of DIM. Optimal concentration of DIM and volume of loaded sample were also examined. A loaded volume of 2.5 mL was the most appropriate for 0.625 and 1.25 mg L^?1. The use of MIP7_a for the separations of DIM from spiked bovine serum albumin was evaluated, showing a total recovery of 87.7 ± 3.5%. The commercial sorbent C18 was not suitable for such an application. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry     

A molecularly imprinted polymer as artificial receptor for the detection of indole‐3‐carbinol

Molecularly imprinting polymer technology is used to prepare a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective recognition of indole‐3‐carbinol (I3C), a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic phytochemical associated with the anticancer activities of cruciferous vegetables. Prepolymerization study via nuclear magnetic resonance technique is done to choose the best functional monomer that establishes more interaction with the template. The prepared MIP is tested before in batch experiments and subsequently used as solid‐phase extraction sorbent for the selective detection of I3C from standard solutions. In order to verify the selectivity of the MIP, the binding of structurally related compounds, such as indole‐3‐acetonitrile, teophylline, and tryptophan, on the polymer is investigated. The experiments indicate that the MIP is highly selective for I3C with an association constant of K_a = (1.37 ± 0.07) × 10³ M^?1. Standard mixture solution loaded on MIP‐SPE cartridge give a recovery of 95% for I3C, while the other compounds are totally eluted during washing step. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40819.