Imprinted polymer particles for selenium uptake: synthesis, characterization and analytical applications.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Selenium is an essential trace element, but its determination requires selective and efficient extraction methods.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer a promising platform for selective analyte recognition and separation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prepare and characterize molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) particles for the selective extraction of selenium ions.
• To develop a sensitive method for selenium determination using the prepared MIPs.

Main Methods:

• MIP particles were synthesized using SeO(2), o-phenylenediamine, 2-vinylpyridine (VP), ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (EDMA), and AIBN.
• Selenium-templated polymer particles were characterized using IR and thermogravimetric (TG) analysis.
• Optimization of extraction parameters including pH, extraction time, and eluent composition was performed.

Main Results:

• High extraction efficiencies (>99%) were achieved using a methanol-acetonitrile mixture as the eluent.
• The developed method demonstrated a low limit of detection (3.3 µg L⁻¹) and a dynamic linear range of 10-200 µg L⁻¹ when coupled with HG-AAS.
• The method showed good performance with low relative standard deviations (<8.1%) and was successfully applied to real sample analysis.

Conclusions:

• Molecularly imprinted polymer particles provide an effective matrix for selective selenium ion extraction.
• The developed method offers a sensitive and reliable approach for selenium determination in various real-world samples.