Molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction of epicatechin from tea beverage

A new molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by using epicatechin as the template molecule. The synthesized MIP was characterized by infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy, and the MIP with 15 - 38 mu m particle size was selected as a solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbent in this work. The maximum MIP binding capacity was 38 mu g epicatechin per 100 mg polymer by cartridge test, with a recovery rate of 95.04%. It showed good selectivity and affinity for epicatechin compared with the structurally-related compounds of quercetin and rutin. The tea samples were also directly applied onto the SPE cartridge and the collected fractions were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography. The MIP cartridge enabled the selective extraction and preconcentration of epicatechin from tea samples.