Abstract
Tyrosine-imprinted polymeric beads with diameters in the range 120–140 mm were prepared in an aqueous system by seed swelling and suspension polymerization using trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) as the crosslinking agent and acrylamide (AM), 2-vinylpyridine (VP) and/or 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid (AMPS), respectively, as functional monomers (FMs). The molecular recognition properties, dynamic adsorption behaviours and regeneration capabilities of the molecularly imprinted beads (MIBs) were investigated via a solid-phase extraction method.
The functional monomers were found to be indispensable for preparing MIBs with highly specific molecular recognition properties. Irrespective of the choice of FM, when the FM/TRIM molar ratio was 4:15 the MIBs prepared exhibited the most desirable properties for the purposes of this study. When only one FM was used, it was found that AMPS provided the best solution as far as all the adsorption, recognition and regeneration capabilities of the MIBs were concerned. However, MIBs with the best molecular recognition and adsorption properties, and with only a slight sacrifice in their regeneration properties, were prepared using AMPS and VP as bifunctional monomers. For such MIBs, the initial separation factor, α, and static distribution coefficient, KD, were 2.01 and 2.15 ml/g, respectively.