A molecularly imprinted polymer as artificial receptor for the detection of indole-3-carbinol

Molecularly imprinting polymer technology is used to prepare a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selective recognition of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic phytochemical associated with the anticancer activities of cruciferous vegetables. Prepolymerization study via nuclear magnetic resonance technique is done to choose the best functional monomer that establishes more interaction with the template. The prepared MIP is tested before in batch experiments and subsequently used as solid-phase extraction sorbent for the selective detection of I3C from standard solutions. In order to verify the selectivity of the MIP, the binding of structurally related compounds, such as indole-3-acetonitrile, teophylline, and tryptophan, on the polymer is investigated. The experiments indicate that the MIP is highly selective for I3C with an association constant of Ka = (1.37 ± 0.07) × 103 M−1. Standard mixture solution loaded on MIP-SPE cartridge give a recovery of 95% for I3C, while the other compounds are totally eluted during washing step. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014, 131, 40819.