Silica-incorporated cisplatin-MIP: synthesis, characterization, and evaluation via liquid chromatography

A cisplatin molecular imprinted polymer was synthesized using methacrylic acid, silica particles, EGDMA, and AIBN as the functional monomer, base skeleton material, crosslinker, and initiator, respectively. The same polymer matrix prepared in the absence of the template, termed NIP, was synthesized using the same procedure and reaction mixture. The synthesized silica-based MIP and NIP were characterized using FTIR spectroscopy, SEM, zeta potential analysis, EDX, BET/BJH analysis, and TGA. FTIR data confirmed the hydrogen bonding interactions between the template and different monomers. The quantity of silica-based MIP/NIP, pH, time, and template concentration were optimized for the maximum output of the MIP, with 41.584 mg g^-1 as the maximum adsorption capacity (q _e). The cisplatin adsorption data follow the pseudo first order kinetic model (R ² = 0.9685) and Freundlich isotherm model (R ² = 0.9923). Cisplatin adsorption is physisorption with heterogeneous multilayer formation in the cavities of the silica-based MIP, and this process is endothermic and spontaneous in nature. The imprinting factor of the silica-based MIP was found to be 2.11 with a particle size of the MIP in the sub-2 µm range. A liquid chromatographic system coupled with UV detection was used for investigating the selective nature of silica-based MIP towards cisplatin. Cisplatin was retained to a greater extent in contrast to other templates having structural similarities with cisplatin. The resultant MIP was applied for the removal of cisplatin from spiked real water samples, resulting in adsorption above 90%.