Selective molecular adsorption using electrospun nanofiber affinity membranes.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Solid-phase extraction (SPE) is crucial for analyzing drug residues in environmental samples.
• Developing efficient and selective SPE materials is an ongoing challenge.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer high specificity for target analytes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel affinity membrane for simplified solid-phase extraction of drug residues.
• To encapsulate molecularly imprinted nanoparticles into polymer nanofibers.
• To evaluate the performance of the composite nanofiber mats for propranolol detection.

Main Methods:

• Electrospinning of poly(ethylene terephthalate) nanofibers.
• Encapsulation of propranolol-imprinted nanoparticles within nanofibers.
• Radioligand binding analysis to confirm binding site accessibility and selectivity.
• Solid-phase extraction using the composite nanofiber mats.
• Detection of propranolol using HPLC-MS/MS.

Main Results:

• Successful encapsulation of 100% of imprinted nanoparticles into nanofibers.
• Composite nanofibers formed non-woven mats with high specific binding capacity.
• Specific binding sites were accessible and demonstrated chiral selectivity.
• Trace amounts of propranolol (1 ng mL(-1)) in tap water were easily detected after SPE.
• No template leakage was observed from the composite nanofibers.

Conclusions:

• The developed composite nanofiber mats serve as effective affinity membranes for simplified SPE.
• This method significantly enhances the detectability of trace drug residues like propranolol.
• The material offers a promising approach for environmental monitoring and analytical sample preparation.