Molecularly imprinted polymers for solid-phase extraction and solid-phase microextraction: recent developments and future trends.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic polymers having a predetermined selectivity for a given analyte, or group of structurally related compounds, that make them ideal materials to be used in separation processes. In this sense, during past years a huge amount of papers have been published dealing with the use of MIPs as sorbents in solid-phase extraction, namely molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE). Although the majority of these papers were restricted to describe the use of different templates for different applications, several attempts proposing new alternatives to minimize the inherent drawbacks of the preparation and use of MIPs (i.e. template bleeding, tedious synthesis procedure, etc.) have been reported. Thus, this paper does not pretend to be a collection of MISPE-related papers but to give an overview on the significant attempts carried out during recent years to improve the performance of MIPs in solid-phase extraction. In addition, the use of MIPs packed in high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) columns for the direct injection of crude sample extracts and the preparation of imprinted fibres for solid-phase microextraction will be also discussed.

Selective high performance liquid chromatography imprinted-stationary phases for the screening of phenylurea herbicides in vegetable samples.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the determination of phenylurea herbicides have been synthesized by polymerisation of the appropriated reagents mixture within the pores of preformed spherical silica particles leading to a silica-MIP composite material. Subsequently, the silica matrix was etched away resulting in MIP beads which can be considered the "mirror image" of the original silica mold. The MIP particles were packed in stainless steal HPLC columns (125mmx4.6mm I.D.) and the materials were evaluated as imprinted-stationary phases for phenylurea herbicides. The imprinting effect of the originated specific binding sites for the selective recognition of phenylurea herbicides was clearly demonstrated. An efficient separation of a mixture of phenylurea herbicides in two groups, with or without a methoxy group in the chemical structure, was achieved and well shaped and defined peaks were obtained. Finally, the optimum imprinted column (prepared using linuron as template, 2-(trifluoromethyl)-acrylic acid as monomer, 72h of polymerisation time and the subsequent dissolution of silica matrix) was used for the LC-UV screening of phenylurea herbicides directly from vegetable sample extracts without any previous clean-up step at low concentration level in less than 10min.

Evaluation of new selective molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by precipitation polymerisation for the extraction of phenylurea herbicides.

Three different molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been prepared by precipitation polymerisation using linuron (LIN) or isoproturon (IPN) (phenylurea herbicides) as templates and methacrylic acid (MAA) or trifluormethacrylic acid (TFMAA) as functional monomers. The ability of the different polymers to selectively rebind not only the template but also other phenylurea herbicides has been evaluated. In parallel, the influence of the different templates and functional monomers used during polymers synthesis on the performance of the obtained MIPs was also studied through different rebinding experiments. The experimental binding isotherms were fitted to the Langmuir-Freundlich isotherm allowing to describe the kind of binding sites present in the imprinted polymers under study. It was concluded that TFMAA-based polymer using IPN as template presents the best properties to be used as a selective sorbent for the extraction of phenylurea herbicides.

Clean up of phenylurea herbicides in plant sample extracts using molecularly imprinted polymers.

Two different molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared by precipitation polymerization using linuron or isoproturon (phenylurea herbicides) as templates and trifluormethacrylic acid as functional monomer. These materials were used as selective sorbents in the development of molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) procedures for the determination of several phenylurea herbicides (fenuron, metoxuron, chlortoluron, isoproturon, metobromuron, and linuron) in plant samples extracts. The MISPE procedures were fully optimized and applied to the clean up of selected phenylurea herbicides in carrot, potato, corn, and pea sample extracts and finally determined by HPLC-UV at 244 nm. Although a high degree of clean up was obtained, a decrease of the MIP recognition capabilities was observed in subsequent runs. Thus, a previous clean up protocol based on the use of a non-imprinted polymer was used to prevent the loss of MIP performance and to ease the removal of interferences. Following this procedure, namely two-step MISPE, matrix compounds were almost completely removed by the non-imprinted polymer retaining the ability of MIPs to selectively rebind target analytes unaltered. The developed MISPE procedures allowed the screening of phenylurea herbicides in plant samples at concentration levels required by established European maximum residue limits.

[Immunochemistry of immunogenic proteins of Entamoeba histolytica]. / Immunoquímica de proteínas inmunogénicas de Entamoeba histolytica.

Entamoeba histolytica (HK-9: IMSS) trophozoites were separated from the culture medium and washed and submitted to the effects of ultrasound during 10 minutes. After 10,000 rpm x 30 centrifugation, the supernatant fluid was separated in four fractions by Sephadex G-200 gel chromatography. These fractions were lyophilized, redisolved in a lesser volume and dyalized against isotonic saline solution. Antigen-antibody precipitant reactions between each of them and two rabbit antiserums were demonstrated: anti amoeba and anti fraction A. It was verified that the antisera reacted also with the culture medium, the human seric albumin and the sera from health people and patients with invasive amebiasis. The higher antigenicity, quantitatively and qualitatively, was obtained with the fraction B; the less antigenic fraction was the fraction D. In fraction A three antigens were identified. When those proteins were filtered by a Bio Gel P4 column, two fractions were eluted: A1 and A2 which were lyophilized, redisolved and dyalized in isotonic saline solution. After this treatment, fraction A1 was capable to maintain its antigenicity against the rabbit antisera and the sera from patients with invasive amebiasis, fact by which it was considered a protein from amebal origin and not as a protenic contaminant from the culture medium.