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Specific recognition of polyphenols by molecularly imprinted polymers based on a ternary deep eutectic solvent
Najing Fu1, Liteng Li1, Xiao Liu2
1College of Pharmaceutical Science, Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Quality Control of Hebei Province, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China.
Journal of Chromatography. A
|November 22, 2017
Summary
Researchers developed a novel method using deep eutectic solvents (DES) to create molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) from insoluble compounds like caffeic acid. These DES-based MIPs show high specificity for polyphenol recognition, demonstrating a new strategy for MIP development.
Area of Science:
- Polymer Chemistry
- Analytical Chemistry
- Supramolecular Chemistry
Background:
- Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are typically synthesized using soluble template compounds.
- Poor solubility of certain target compounds hinders their use as templates for MIP development.
- Deep eutectic solvents (DES) offer unique properties for modifying compound solubility and facilitating template-solvent interactions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a novel strategy for preparing MIPs using an insoluble target compound, caffeic acid (CA).
- To utilize a ternary choline chloride-caffeic acid-ethylene glycol (ChCl-CA-EG) DES as a template for MIP synthesis.
- To investigate the recognition capabilities and specificity of the developed DES-based MIPs for polyphenols.
Main Methods:
- Formation of a ternary DES (ChCl-CA-EG) using insoluble caffeic acid.
- Synthesis of MIPs using the ternary DES as a template.
- Characterization of MIPs using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, elemental analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and atomic force microscopy.
- Evaluation of polyphenol recognition using high-performance liquid chromatography under varying conditions (time, temperature, ionic strength, pH).
Main Results:
- The ternary DES-based MIPs demonstrated significantly higher recognition specificity for caffeic acid compared to other tested polyphenols.
- MIPs exhibited characteristics suitable for chromatographic packing materials.
- Recognition kinetics followed a second-order model, and adsorption fitted the Freundlich isotherm model, indicating chemical interactions (ion/electron exchange, new bond formation).
- The developed MIPs outperformed C18, C8, and non-imprinted polymers in polyphenol recognition and were successfully applied to a Radix asteris sample.
Conclusions:
- The transformation of insoluble target compounds into polymeric DES is a novel and feasible strategy for MIP preparation.
- DES-based MIPs offer enhanced specificity and improved recognition capabilities for target analytes.
- This approach expands the scope of MIP applications, particularly for compounds with poor solubility, and shows potential for further research and development.
