Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles for selective extraction and pre-concentration of protriptyline by ultrasound-assisted extraction method in human plasma

Abstract

In this study, molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (MIP-NPs) for the selective pre-concentration of protriptyline have been described. The nano-sized protriptyline-MIP particles were synthesized using suspension polymerization in silicon oil with methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile as an initiator and protriptyline as a template molecule. The MIP-NPs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA) methods. The effects of various parameters on the sensitivity of the method were investigated. Under the optimal conditions, the relative standard deviations (RSD) of peak area for 30 μg mL⁻¹ of protriptyline in water and plasma were 3.4% and 4.1%, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of protriptyline in human plasma samples.