Fabrication of core-shell magnetic molecularly imprinted nanospheres towards hypericin via click polymerization

Abstract

The core-shell structure molecularly imprinted magnetic nanospheres towards hypericin (Fe 3 O 4 @MIPs) were prepared by mercapto-alkyne click polymerization. The shape and size of nanospheres were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The nanospheres were analyzed by FTIR spectroscopy to verify the thiol-yne click reaction in the presence or absence of hypericin. The Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) method was used for measuring the average pore size, pore volume and surface area. The Fe 3 O 4 @MIPs synthesized displayed a good adsorption capacity (Q = 6.80 μmol·g -1 ). In addition, so-prepared Fe 3 O 4 @MIPs showed fast mass transfer rates and good reusability. The method established for fabrication of Fe 3 O 4 @MIPs showed excellent reproducibility and has broad potential for the fabrication of other core-shell molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs).