β-Cyclodextrin molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction coatings for selective recognition of...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Polychlorophenols are environmental pollutants requiring sensitive detection methods.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer selective molecular recognition capabilities.
• Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a widely used sample preparation technique.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize novel β-cyclodextrin derivatives as functional monomers for MIP-SPME.
• To develop and optimize MIP-SPME fiber coatings for efficient polychlorophenols extraction.
• To evaluate the performance of β-cyclodextrin MIP-SPME for analyzing polychlorophenols in real water samples.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of β-cyclodextrin derivatives.
• Fabrication of MIP-SPME fiber coatings on stainless steel substrates.
• Optimization of extraction conditions for polychlorophenols.
• Analysis of polychlorophenols using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Main Results:

• The β-cyclodextrin MIP-SPME coatings demonstrated significantly higher extraction efficiency and selectivity for polychlorophenols, particularly triclosan, compared to non-imprinted polymers and conventional MIPs.
• A synergistic effect between the β-cyclodextrin cavity and imprinted binding sites enhanced extraction capacity.
• The developed method achieved a limit of quantification of 1 μg/L for three polychlorophenols with good recovery rates (83.71%–109.98%) and acceptable precision (RSD 2.83%–12.19%).
• The MIP-SPME fibers exhibited excellent reusability, functioning effectively for over 100 extraction cycles.

Conclusions:

• β-cyclodextrin-based MIP-SPME fiber coatings provide a highly selective and efficient platform for polychlorophenols extraction.
• The synergistic interaction enhances the recognition capability, making it suitable for trace analysis in complex matrices.
• This method offers a robust, reproducible, and cost-effective solution for environmental monitoring of polychlorophenols.