Monodispersed, molecularly imprinted polymers for cinchonidine by precipitation polymerization

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic receptors with tailored binding sites.
• Cinchonidine (CD) is a chiral alkaloid with pharmaceutical relevance.
• Developing selective polymers for chiral recognition is crucial in analytical chemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize novel MIPs for cinchonidine (CD) recognition.
• To investigate the impact of monomer composition and polymer architecture on binding affinity and selectivity.
• To evaluate the stereoselective separation capabilities of the developed MIPs for CD and its stereoisomer, cinchonine.

Main Methods:

• Precipitation polymerization was employed to synthesize monodispersed MIPs.
• Methacrylic acid (MAA) and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) were used as functional and co-monomers, respectively.
• Divinylbenzene (DVB) served as the cross-linker, with core-shell structures investigated for MIP3.

Main Results:

• Three distinct MIPs (MIP1, MIP2, MIP3) were successfully synthesized as monodispersed, spherical beads.
• Scatchard analysis revealed varying binding affinities, with MIP1 showing the highest association constant for CD.
• Chromatographic studies demonstrated preferential retention of CD over cinchonine, achieving a stereoseparation factor of 38 with MIP3.

Conclusions:

• The synthesized MIPs exhibit molecular recognition capabilities for cinchonidine.
• Polymer architecture, particularly the core-shell structure of MIP3, significantly influences stereoselective separation.
• MIP3 shows promise for the selective separation of cinchonidine from its stereoisomers.