Development of paper-immobilized molecularly imprinted polymers by laser pointer activation for methamphetamine extraction with analysis by ion mobility spectrometry

A fast, simple, cheap, and versatile strategy has been proposed for the synthesis of paper-immobilized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) by photoactivated bulk polymerization over a piece of nitro-cellulose using a 405 nm laser pointer. Polymerization was carried out using a mixture of methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate, using methamphetamine as template molecule and bis(2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl)phenylphosphine oxide as radical initiator. After investigation of different polymeriza-tion parameters, the following experimental conditions were found to give best results: size of nitro-cellulose strip (13.5 x 4.0 x 0.8 mm), type of porogen (acetonitrile), polymerization mixture volume (75 mu L), and irradiation times (10 min). Experimental conditions (such as sample pH, extraction and desorp-tion time, and type and volume of desorption solvent) were also adjusted for the extraction of metham-phetamine using the proposed paper-MIP. Methamphetamine determination was carried out by ion mo-bility spectrometry providing a limit of detection of 14 mu g L -1 and quantitative recoveries from 81 to 95% using spiked urine and oral fluid samples. The proposed paper-immobilized MIP device allows a sim-ple and selective sample extraction procedure for the determination of methamphetamine in oral fluids and urine with a high portability, minimal solvent consumption, and reduced costs compared to other conventional approaches.(c) 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ )

Automated summary

A fast and simple method for synthesizing paper-immobilized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) using a 405 nm laser pointer was proposed. The paper-MIP device allows the extraction and determination of methamphetamine in oral fluids and urine with high portability and minimal solvent consumption. The method provides a limit of detection of 14 μg L -1 and quantitative recoveries from 81 to 95%.