Synthesis, characterisation and optimisation of bulk molecularly imprinted polymers from nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

The scope of this study was to synthesise and characterise the multi-template molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and to use target compounds, naproxen, ibuprofen, diclofenac, fenoprofen and gemfibrozil as templates so as to achieve all maximum extraction efficiency for all compounds. These compounds are a class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) generally used by humans, as they have pain-relieving activities. MIPs are cross-linked polymeric materials that display high binding capacity and selectivity towards templates of interest. The synthesis consisted of a bulk polymerisation process at 60 °C by using NSAIDs as multi-templates, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), 2-vinyl pyridine (2VP) and toluene as cross-linker, functional monomer and porogen, respectively. Nonimprinted polymer (NIP) was synthesised in a similar manner with the omission of the templates. Characteristics of the polymers were analysed using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transformed Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Solid State Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (NMR) and Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA). An adsorption method of NSAIDs using the bulk polymerised MIP was investigated under various pH, mass, concentration and time conditions. Other parameters included adsorption kinetics and adsorption isotherms. Uptake of NSAIDs from an aqueous medium was achieved with 40 mg of MIP at pH 4.0 within 10 min of contact time. The extraction efficiencies achieved for NSAIDs in aqueous solutions ranged from 90–98% for all compounds tested. The adsorption capacity obtained for MIP ranged from 1.230–1.249 mg g−1 and 0.90–1.136 mg g−1 for NIP, whereas the selectivity values ranged from 1.12–2.4. A kinetic study revealed that adsorption obeys a second-order rate, and the Langmuir model explains adsorption isotherm data. This work showed that the multi-template approach for all the target compounds has the potential to give maximum extraction efficiencies in MIP extraction systems from aqueous samples.