Molecularly imprinted polymer based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes for ribavirin recognition

Molecularly imprinted polymers on the surface of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been developed for selective recognition for Ribavirin. The composites (MWNTs/MIPs) were prepared by using Ribavirin as the template molecule, acrylamide (AAM) as the functional monomer, N, N-methylenebisacrylamide (NNMBA) as the cross-linker. MWNTs/MIPs obtained were characterized by fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The properties such as adsorption dynamics, special binding, and the selective recognition ability were evaluated. The adsorption equilibrium was arrived in about 4 h which indicated that the adsorption kinetic was comparatively fast. The results of binding and selectivity experiments showed that the MWNTs/MIPs could bind the template molecule selectively in aqueous media.