Preparation and Binding Characteristics of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Capsaicin

Abstract

To isolate capsaicin effectively, molecular imprinted polymers (MIPs) with capsaicin were synthesized with methacrylicacid (MAA) as function monomers, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as cross linker by non-covalent method. Technological parameters for the preparation of MIPs were optimized by L9(34) orthogonal test. The static equilibrium binding and recognition properties of MIPs to capsaicin were also investigated. The surface structure of the MIPs was visualized by scanning electron micrography. The results show that the optimistic composition of MIP is as following: 0.25 mmol capsaicin, 7.0 mL acetonitrile, 3.0 mL ethylether, 1.25 mmol MAA and 100 μL 80% tween-80. The adsorption isotherms indicates that the MIPs show a good imprinting effect (QMIPs=23.44 mg/g). The MIPs have the specific recognition selectivity for capsaicin in the mixture. Thus, compared with zingerone and piperine which are similar in molecular structure and property to capsaicin, the MIPs show a good selectivity and intense recognition of the template molecule.