Novel molecularly imprinted polymers based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes with bifunctional monomers for solid-phase extraction of rhein from the root of kiwi fruit

A novel molecularly imprinted polymers based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes synthesized by precipitate polymerization was applied as a selective sorbent for separation and determination of rhein (4,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone-2-carboxylic acid) from the root of kiwi fruit samples coupled with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared with methacrylic acid and 4-vinylpyridine as bifunctional monomers. The chemical structure of the molecularly imprinted polymers was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer. The equilibrium rebinding experiment and competitive adsorption experiment showed that these imprinted polymers exhibited good adsorption ability toward rhein. The Langmuir adsorption equilibrium constant, Km, and theoretical maximum adsorption capacity, Qm, were estimated to be 0.43 and 6.77 mg g-1, respectively. Compared with molecularly imprinted polymers prepared with methacrylic acid or 4-vinylpyridine solely, the molecularly imprinted polymers synthesized with bifunctional monomers showed enhanced molecular imprinting effect and higher adsorption capacity for the template rhein. The performances of the molecularly imprinted polymers utilized as solid phase extraction sorbent were investigated in detail. The molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by the method proposed in this work could successfully apply to extraction and determination of rhein from the root of kiwi fruit samples coupled with HPLC.