Room-Temperature, Ionic-Liquid-Enhanced, Beta-Cyclodextrin-Based, Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Selective...

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Materials Science
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Ensuring food quality and safety necessitates sensitive detection of pesticide residues.
• Existing methods for trace pesticide detection often lack economic viability, reliability, or environmental friendliness.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer a promising avenue for selective analyte recognition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an economic, reliable, and greener approach for trace pesticide residue detection.
• To synthesize and characterize novel beta-cyclodextrin-based MIPs enhanced with room-temperature ionic liquid for abamectin detection.
• To evaluate the adsorption, selectivity, reusability, and analytical performance of the developed MIPs.

Main Methods:

• Simple polymerization process for synthesizing beta-cyclodextrin-based MIPs using room-temperature ionic liquid.
• Morphological and structural characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), nitrogen adsorption, and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA).
• Adsorption studies employing pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isotherm models.
• Application in analyzing abamectin in spiked fruit samples (apple, banana, orange, grape).

Main Results:

• Successful synthesis and characterization of the novel MIPs were confirmed.
• The MIPs demonstrated a high theoretical adsorption capacity of 15.08 mg g^-1 for abamectin, with excellent selectivity and reusability.
• Analysis of spiked fruit samples yielded good recovery rates (81.67-101.47%) with low relative standard deviation (1.26-4.36%).
• Achieved low limits of detection (0.02 µg g^-1) and quantitation (0.05 µg g^-1) within a linear range of 0.03-1.50 µg g^-1.

Conclusions:

• Room-temperature ionic liquid-enhanced, beta-cyclodextrin-based MIPs provide a highly selective and efficient platform for abamectin detection.
• This method represents a convenient and practical approach for environmental protection and ensuring food quality and safety.
• The developed MIPs offer a greener alternative for trace pesticide residue analysis.