Molecularly imprinted polymers as selective adsorbents for ambient plasma mass spectrometry

Abstract

The application of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as molecular scavengers for ambient plasma ionization mass spectrometry has been reported for the first time. MIPs were synthesized using methacrylic acid as functional monomer; nicotine, propyphenazone, or methylparaben as templates; ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker; and 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile as polymerization initiator. To perform ambient plasma ionization experiments, a setup consisting of the heated crucible, a flowing atmospheric-pressure afterglow (FAPA) plasma ion source, and a quadrupole ion trap mass spectrometer has been used. The heated crucible with programmable temperature allows for desorption of the analytes from MIPs structure which results in their direct introduction into the ion stream. Limits of detection, linearity of the proposed analytical procedure, and selectivities have been determined for three analytes: nicotine, propyphenazone, and methylparaben. The analytes used were chosen from various classes of organic compounds to show the feasibility of the analytical procedure. The limits of detections (LODs) were 10 nM, 10, and 0.5 μM for nicotine, propyphenazone, and methylparaben, respectively. In comparison with the measurements performed for the non-imprinted polymers, the values of LODs were improved for at least one order of magnitude due to preconcentration of the sample and reduction of background noise, contributing to signal suppression. The described procedure has shown linearity in a broad range of concentrations. The overall time of single analysis is short and requires ca. 5 min. The developed technique was applied for the determination of nicotine, propyphenazone, and methylparaben in spiked real-life samples, with recovery of 94.6–98.4%. The proposed method is rapid, sensitive, and accurate which provides a new option for the detection of small organic compounds in various samples. Graphical abstractThe experimental setup used for analysis Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00216-017-0281-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPIONs) as Cores for Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIP) in Trace Analysis

“…The mass spectrometer was operated in the positive ionization mode. In MS n experiments, the width of the selection window was set at 2 Da and the amplification of the excitation was set according to the experiment (from 0.2 to 1.5 V) [8][9][10].…”

A molecularly imprinted polymer coated-nanocomposite of magnetic nanoparticles for organic compounds recognition

“…Mass spectrometers were equipped optionally with FAPA ambient plasma source (ERTEC, Wroclaw, Poland). Experimental details for the FAPA method were presented in our previous publication [12].…”

“…The plasma species are directed towards the sample, resulting in desorption and ionization of the analyte. Ambient plasma MS techniques have many advantages due to their simple instrumentation, rugged construction, absence of solvents, and generation of singly charged analyte species that are easier identifiable than multiple charged ions and various adducts produced by the spray based techniques [12].…”

Molecularly Imprinted Poly(2-oxazoline) Based on Cross-Linking by Direct Amidation of Methyl Ester Side Chains

“…The advantage of MIPs over natural antibodies is their high thermal and chemical stability, excellent reusability and easy, low-cost synthesis. 7 The MIPs have found numerous application in solid-phase extraction, [8][9][10] catalysis, [11][12][13] as sensors, [14][15][16] and in drug delivery. [17][18][19][20] Drug delivery is the process or method that allows to transport drugs into the body to achieve the desired therapeutic effect.…”

“…The advantage of MIPs over natural antibodies is their high thermal and chemical stability, excellent reusability, and easy, low-cost synthesis . The MIPs have found numerous application in solid-phase extraction, − catalysis, − as sensors, − and in drug delivery. − …”