Ion-imprinted polymer beads are prepared for the first time by inverse suspension polymerization in mineral oil using nickel(II) as the template ion. As water is not used as the continuous phase, this new route of synthesis avoids the risk that the ion template leaves the suspension for the aqueous phase. The leaching of nickel from the resin beads is very good due to the large porosity of the polymer beads. The ratio between the ligand and the crosslinker has been increased leading to higher adsorption capacities. Comparing these values with those of the non-imprinted polymers and studying the effect of some interfering ions proves that an optimum can be found for the ratio ligand/crosslinker.
Bulk and microemulsion systems were studied in order to obtain molecularly imprinted copolymers selective for gallic acid. Both systems contained acrylic acid as the functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker. Microemulsion formation was confirmed by refractive index measurements and by conductivity analyses. Simple uptake tests revealed higher affinities for the microemulsion polymers; a 3.55 imprinting factor and a 0.275 g gallic acid (g polymer) -1 adsorption capacity were recorded. Competitive uptake tests, from an oak bark extract, were in agreement with the simple uptake results and BET analyses. Microemulsion polymer particles selectively bind 4.58 times more gallic acid molecules relative to other competitor species.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.