Molecularly imprinted cyclodextrin polymers as stationary phases of high performance liquid chromatography

Imprinted cyclodextrin polymers are prepared and applied to stationary phases of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for the selective recognition of steroids and other hydrophobic guest molecules. Molecular-imprinting efficiently promotes the binding-affinity and substrate-selectivity towards the template molecules compared with the control polymers prepared in their absence. When rigid and hydrophobic molecules such as cholesterol are imprinted, retention times towards the template molecules are notably enhanced. Thus, imprinting of cyclodextrins is effective for the preparation of synthetic tailor-made receptors for various kinds of hydrophobic guest molecules, and the polymers are potentially applicable to selective recognition of biologically important molecules or removal of toxic molecules from aqueous media.