Molecularly imprinted microspheres and nanospheres for di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate prepared by precipitation polymerization

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMs, >3 microm) and nanospheres (MINs, approximately 450 nm) for the environmental endocrine disruptor di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DEHP) were prepared by a precipitation polymerization (PP) procedure. The effect of the dispersive solvents acetonitrile (ACN) and cyclohexane (CH), the cross-linkers ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) and trimethylpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM), and the template on particle size and morphology of polymers was investigated in detail by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET adsorption isotherm determination. When used as HPLC stationary phase, the microspheres exhibited strong affinity for the template DEHP with an imprint factor (IF) higher than 8.0 in ACN/water (60:40, v/v) as mobile phase. Furthermore, baseline separation of DEHP from benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) and dibutyl phthalate (DBP) could be achieved. In contrast, no or only poor separation could be observed with non-imprinted polymeric polymers (NIPs) or imprinted bulk polymers (MIB), respectively. Similarly, the obtained MINs exhibited an imprinting effect in pure ACN, i.e. the bond amount of DEHP was significantly higher compared to NIPs, as was shown in rebinding experiments. Besides their use as an HPLC stationary phase, MIMs might further be applicable for SPE sample cleanup, while MINs could be used as a recognition layer on sensor surfaces.

Porous polymer particles—A comprehensive guide to synthesis, characterization, functionalization and applications

“…It should be noted that commercial DVB is technical, composed of either 55% or 80% DVB with the rest being mostly ethyl styrene monomer. Methacrylate crosslinkers are also polymerized via precipitation polymerization with a low percentage of added monomer [50][51]. As a result, precipitation polymerized particles are rich in remaining double bonds that can be efficiently utilized in post-functionalization [52] (see further functionalization section).…”

“…Seeded polymerizations seem to be suitable for production of SEC beads [427] since the pore size and pore size distribution can be easily controlled in the second swelling step. For HPLC columns, aerosol and precipitation [51,281] polymerizations are also available, together with seeded polymerizations [12,[68][69][428][429].…”

Neutral polar methacrylate‐based monoliths for normal phase nano‐LC and CEC of polar species including N‐glycans

“…The solubility parameters of EDMA and TRIM are 18.2 and 18.5 MPa 1/2 , respectively [22]. The solubility parameter of a given substance is equal to the square root of its cohesive energy density, which reflects the extent of cohesive (i.e., intermolecular) forces between the molecules of the given substance [32].…”

“…The factors that affect the kinetic polymerization process also influence the morphology of the monoliths. These factors include among other things the nature and concentrations of the functional monomer, crosslinker, porogen solvent, and the initiator as well as the temperature [22]. The present study has focused on the effects of the nature of functional monomer and the crosslinker and the composition of the porogen solvent on the column performance.…”

Highly selective determination of phenolphthalein by flow injection chemiluminescence method based on a molecular imprinting polymer

“…[14] Briefly, 0.5 mmol phenolphthalein, 6.0 mmol MAA (Alfa Aesar), 8.0 mL chloroform (Shanghai Chemical Reagent Company, China) and 2.0 mL carbinol (Shanghai Chemical Reagent Company, China) were added to a 50 mL flask. After shaking for 4 h with orbital shaker, 3.0 mL EGDMA (Alfa Aesar) and 30 mg azodiisobutyronitrile (AIBN; Tianjin Damao Chemical Reagent Factory, China) were added and the mixture was purged with nitrogen for 15 min and sealed under vacuum.…”