The effective and selective separation of (−)-epigallocatechin gallate by molecularly imprinted chitosan beads

Abstract

The (2)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) imprinted chitosan beads (EICBs) were fabricated for the effective and selective separation of EGCG. The EGCG molecules interacted with the amino groups of chitosan in the imprinting process, resulting in a highly porous structure of EICBs and more adsorption sites. Consequently, EICBs exhibited better adsorption performance than nonimprinted chitosan beads. The maximum adsorption capacity of EGCG onto EICBs reached 135.50 mg/g at 313 K. The imprinting factor of EICBs was 4.22, indicating that EICBs possess good recognition ability and selectivity for EGCG. After five cycles of reuse, only a slight decrease (7.77%) in the adsorption capacity was observed, demonstrating the satisfactory reusability of EICBs. Furthermore, the adsorption of EGCG onto EICBs is deduced to be the monolayer adsorption on an energetically homogeneous surface; the hydrogen bonding between EGCG and EICBs is the main driving force for the adsorption. Our studies suggest that EICBs have a great potential for the effective and selective separation of EGCG.

Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Activities of (‐)‐Epigallocatechin‐3‐gallate (EGCG) and its Potential to Preserve the Quality and Safety of Foods

“…As a result of this low oxidative stability, isolation of EGCG and getting it into a stable deliverable form is challenging. Yu, Jing, and Yin () developed a method for EGCG separation using imprinted chitosan beads (EICB). EGCG was effectively separated with the maximum adsorption capacity of 136 mg/g at 313 K, and the hydrogen bonding between EGCG and EICBs was the main driving force for the adsorption.…”