Synthesis and application of a carbamazepine-imprinted polymer for solid-phase extraction from urine and wastewater

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) designed to enable the selective extraction of carbamazepine (CBZ) from effluent wastewater and urine samples has been synthesised using a non-covalent molecular imprinting approach. The MIP was evaluated chromatographically in the first instance and its affinity for CBZ also confirmed by solid-phase extraction (SPE). The optimal conditions for SPE consisted of conditioning of the cartridge using acidified water purified from a Milli-Q system, loading of the sample under basic aqueous conditions, clean-up using acetonitrile and elution with methanol. The attractive molecular recognition properties of the MIP gave rise to good CBZ recoveries (80%) when 100 mL of effluent water spiked with 1 microg L(-1) was percolated through the polymer. For urine samples, 2 mL samples spiked with 2.5 microg L(-1) CBZ were extracted with a recovery of 65%. For urine, the linear range was 0.05-24 mg L(-1), the limit of detection was 25 microg L(-1) and precision, expressed as relative standard deviation at 0.5 mg L(-1) (n=3), was 3.1% and 12.6% for repeatability and reproducibility between days, respectively.

Optimisation of polystyrene resin-supported Pt catalysts in room temperature, solvent-less, oct-l-ene hydrosilylation using methyldichlorosilane

Six precursor resins with systematic variation of porous parameters were prepared by suspension polymerisation using specific compositions of divinylbenzene, styrene vinylbenzyl chloride (VBC) and 2-ethylhexan-l-ol (a porogen). Surface areas from N(2) sorption and BET analysis were approximately 2-170 m(2)g-(1). The VBC content in each case was 38 mol% and these groups were aminated using the sodium salt of trimethylethylene diamine. Pt was introduced onto each resin at three different loadings (approximately 0.03, approximately 0.2 and approximately 0.4 mmol g-(1)) by appropriate manipulation of K(2)PtCl(6). The matrix of 18 resin-supported Pt complexes was then assessed for catalytic activity in the room temperature, solvent-less, hydrosilylation of oct-l-ene using methyldichlorosilane such that alkene: silane: Pt ratio was fixed at 2:1:1x10(-3). Though all the catalysts showed activity lower than that of homogeneous Speier s catalyst, most were sufficiently active to be potentially valuable heterogeneous catalysts in the laboratory, and indeed the plant. The most lightly loaded resins proved to be the least active. The remainder were recycled 5 times, and the best performers, the most highly loaded species, a further 5 times making 10 consecutive uses in all. A strong dependence on the porous structure of the resins was demonstrated with the activity rising systemically with the surface area. The two highest surface area highest loaded species displayed good activity even when used for the tenth time. The level of concurrent alkene isomerisation observed was very low throughout (<1%) making these heterogeneous species very selective as well as highly active. Overall the derived catalysts are excellent candidates for use in the research laboratory, and with further development could also be valuable in continuous processes.

Synthesis and evaluation of a molecularly imprinted polymer for selective on-line solid-phase extraction of 4-nitrophenol from environmental water

A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) able to bind 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) was prepared using noncovalent molecular imprinting methods and evaluated as a selective sorbent in molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) on-line coupled to a reversed-phase HPLC. It has been shown that the conditions chosen for washing the MIP and for eluting the analyte in the MISPE process are extremely important for ensuring good selectivity and recovery. River water samples, spiked with the 11 Environmental Protection Agency phenolic compounds at microgram per liter levels, were preconcentrated on-line using this MIP, and 4-NP was selectively extracted. The humic acid interference was simultaneously reduced considerably. The MIP was also compared with a commercially available highly cross-linked polymer (LiChrolut EN) and the former yielded cleaner extracts.