Synthesis of Optimized Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for the Isolation and Detection of Antidepressants via HPLC

Alexander D. Hudson, Jorge T. Ueta, William Battell, Oliver Jamieson, Thomas Dunbar, Beatriz Maciá, Marloes Peeters

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Antidepressants such as amitryptiline and fluoxetine are on the list of modern essential medicines of the World Health Organization. However, there are growing concerns regarding the ecological impact of these pharmaceuticals, leading to a great need to improve current wastewater treatment procedures. In this contribution, we will report on the use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the extraction of antidepressants in water samples. MIPs were developed for fluoxetine and duloxetine, antidepressants belonging to the class of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). The binding capacity of these microparticles was evaluated using ultraviolet–visible (UV–Vis) spectroscopy. A new high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) procedure coupled to UV detection was developed, which enabled the study of mixtures of fluoxetine and duloxetine with other nitrogen-containing compounds. These results indicate that it is possible to selectively extract SSRIs from complex samples. Therefore, these versatile polymers are a promising analytical tool for the clean-up of water samples, which will benefit aquatic life and reduce the ecological impact of pharmaceuticals.
Original languageEnglish
Article number18
Pages (from-to)1-9
Number of pages9
JournalBiomimetics
Volume4
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20 Feb 2019

Keywords

  • molecularly imprinted polymers
  • fluoxetine
  • selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs)
  • optical batch rebinding
  • high-performance liquid chromatography

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