Characterization and performance evaluation of functional monomer effect on molecular imprinted polyurethane foam

Area of Science:

• Polymer Chemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Forensic Toxicology

Background:

• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer selective recognition capabilities for target analytes.
• Developing efficient extraction methods is crucial for accurate drug monitoring in biological samples.
• Polyurethane foam (PUF) presents a versatile matrix for creating MIPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize and characterize a PUF-MIP for the selective extraction of alprazolam.
• To optimize the solid-phase extraction (SPE) conditions for PUF-MIP.
• To evaluate the method's performance in a real-world application, such as urine sample analysis.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of PUF-MIP using varying functional monomer percentages.
• High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) for selectivity evaluation against interferents (caffeine, methadone).
• Experimental design to optimize SPE parameters (pH, flow rate, salt concentration).

Main Results:

• Synthesized PUF-MIP demonstrated high selectivity (71%) and recovery (96.8%) for alprazolam compared to non-imprinted polymers (NIPUF).
• Optimized SPE conditions yielded a linear dynamic range (LDR) of 0.03-60 mg/L.
• Achieved limit of detection (LOD) of 8-10 μg/L and limit of quantification (LOQ) of 25-30 μg/L with good precision (RSD 2.88-3.65%).

Conclusions:

• The developed PUF-MIP provides a selective and efficient platform for alprazolam extraction.
• The method is suitable for monitoring alprazolam dosage in biological matrices like urine.
• This approach holds potential for pharmaceutical analysis and forensic toxicology applications.