Application of Ion-Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles for Selective Trace Determination of Palladium Ions in Food and Environmental Samples with the Aid of Experimental Design Methodology

A solid phase extraction method using Pd2+ ion-imprinted polymer (Pd2+-IIP) nanoparticles combined with flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry (FAAS) was developed for the preconcentration and trace detection of palladium ions. The Pd2+-IIP nanoparticles were obtained by precipitation polymerization of 4-vinylpyridine (the functional monomer), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (the cross-linker), 2,2'-azobisisobutyronitrile (the initiator), Eriochrome Cyanine R (the lead-binding ligand), and palladium ions (the template ion) in acetonitrile solution. The parameters affecting adsorption and desorption steps were optimized by a Box-Behnken design through response surface methodology. Three variables (pH value, extraction time, and amount of the synthesized IIP) were selected as the main factors affecting sorption step, while four variables (type of eluent, volume of the eluent, concentration of the eluent, and elution time) were selected for desorption step in the optimization study. The optimized values by this optimization method were 30 mg, 15 min, 6.0, HCl, 4.0 mL, 1.8 mol L-l HCl, and 14 min, for amount of polymer, retention time, pH of solution, type, volume, concentration of the eluent, and elution time, respectively. Under the optimized conditions, the detection limit for the proposed method was found to be 0.2 mu g L-1, while the relative standard deviation (RSD) for five replicate measurements was calculated to be < 3 %. Finally, the introduced solid phase extraction technique was successfully applied for extraction and determination of Pd2+ ions in food and environmental samples.