Selective extraction of fungicide carbendazim in fruits using β-cyclodextrin based molecularly imprinted polymers

Considering the importance of developing a new analytical approach for pesticide residue detection for the sake of ensuring food safety, a β-cyclodextrin based molecularly imprinted polymer was prepared for selective determination of carbendazim. The polymers consist of a porous and hollow structure demonstrating the selective abundant adsorption sites for carbendazim molecule. The selectivity and adsorption capacity of the imprinted polymers were analyzed with dispersive solid-phase extraction and analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography coupled with ultraviolet. The results of imprinted polymers were higher than non-imprinted polymers with the maximum adsorption capacity of 3.65 mg/g within 30 min of total adsorption time. The reusability of the imprinted polymers was determined to evaluate its effectiveness and stability, which proved that the polymers lost 10% efficiency within seven consecutive recycles. The developed method displayed good linearity over the concentration range of 0.05-2.0 mg/L. The recovery percentage of 81.33-97.23 with relative standard deviations of 1.49-4.66% was obtained from spiked apple, banana, orange, and peach samples with a limit of detection of 0.03 mg/L and a limit of quantification of 0.10 mg/L (signal to noise ratio = 3/10). The overall performance of the proposed method evident that this technique provided a desirable outcome and it can be used as a convenient approach, as it qualifies the analytical standards.