Abstract

A new method for the selective extraction of p-aminosalicylic acid from aqueous and urine samples has been developed using magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles before determination by high-performance liquid chromatography. The Fe3O4 nanoparticles were first prepared through the chemical coprecipitation of Fe2+ and Fe3+ and then coated with a vinyl shell. Subsequently, a layer of molecularly imprinted polymers was grafted onto the vinyl-modified magnetic nanoparticles by precipitation polymerization. FTIR spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, vibrating sample magnetometry, and thermogravimetric analysis were applied to characterize the sorbent properties. Moreover, the predominant parameters affecting the magnetic solid phase extraction such as sample pH, sorption and elution times, the amount of sorbent, and composition and volume of eluent were investigated thoroughly. The maximum sorption capacity of the imprinted polymer toward p-aminosalicylic acid was 70.9 mg/g, which is 4.5 times higher than that of the magnetic nonimprinted polymer. The magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles were applied for the selective extraction of p-aminosalicylic acid from aqueous and urine samples and satisfactory results were achieved. The results illustrate that magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles have a great potential in the extraction of p-aminosalicylic acid from environmental and biological matrices.