Selective adsorption of micro ciprofloxacin by molecularly imprinted functionalized polymers appended onto ZnS

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for selective removal of ciprofloxacin (CIP) was prepared by a surface imprinting technique. The MIPs was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The selectivity of the sorbent was investigated by a batch competitive binding experiment using aqueous CIP and gatifloxacin, CIP and chloramphenicol, and CIP and tetracycline mixtures, respectively. The static uptake capacity and selectivity coefficient of the MIPs are higher than those of the non-imprinted sorbent. The imprinted functionalized sorbent offered a fast kinetics for the extraction of CIP, which was obtained within 12 min. In a test of five extraction cycles, the adsorption capacity of the sorbent was above 92% of that of the fresh sorbent. Experimental results showed the potential of MIPs for selectivity removal of CIP.