Abstract
Background Usually, only one kind of compound is selected as a template molecule in the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). Three-templates molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction coatings were designed and used for the selective extraction of parabens in this study.
Methods Methyl p-hydroxybenzoate, ethyl p-hydroxybenzoate and butyl p-hydroxybenzoate were selected as templates to prepare molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction coatings. A glass capillary with an outer diameter of 0.3–0.5 mm was selected as a substrate. The thickness of the MIP coating was 0.3 mm. The coatings were used for parabens extraction and then coupled with HPLC analysis.
Results The optimal extraction time was 120 min. The desorption time was 15 min. The best desorption solution was methanol. The three-templates molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction coatings showed good selectivity to parabens. The imprinting factors for three template molecules were 1.26, 1.21 and 1.26, respectively. The coatings were successfully used for parabens extraction and then coupled with HPLC analysis in river water samples. The recoveries were between 75.15% and 97.97%. The RSDs were between 0.75% and 10.23%.
Conclusion The three-templates molecularly imprinted solid-phase microextraction coatings can selectively extract three parabens in real water samples.
Acknowledgements Supported by a project grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21565018).