Selective solid-phase extraction of dibutyl phthalate from soybean milk using molecular imprinted polymers

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Phthalates are common endocrine disruptors found in various consumer products.
• Accurate and sensitive detection methods are crucial for monitoring phthalate contamination in food and beverages.
• Selective solid-phase extraction techniques offer improved sample preparation for trace analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a highly selective and sensitive method for phthalate analysis.
• To synthesize and characterize molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for dibutyl phthalate (DBP) recognition.
• To apply the developed method for trace phthalate determination in soybean milk.

Main Methods:

• Selective molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) using dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as the template molecule.
• Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) via bulk polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA).
• Scatchard plot analysis to determine binding characteristics and dissociation constants (Kd1 = 0.5187 mmol L(-1), Kd2 = 0.01898 mmol L(-1)).

Main Results:

• The synthesized MIPs demonstrated two-site binding behavior for the template molecule.
• Rebinding tests showed high recovery rates (75.8-107.5%) with low relative standard deviations (1.80-10.08%) for phthalates in spiked soybean milk samples.
• The MISPE method proved feasible for the selective extraction of phthalates.

Conclusions:

• The developed MISPE technique provides a selective and sensitive approach for phthalate analysis.
• The synthesized MIPs are effective for the extraction of phthalates from complex matrices like soybean milk.
• This method enables the accurate determination of trace levels of phthalates in commercial soybean milk samples.