Molecularly imprinted polymer prepared with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization.

Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) was utilized to prepare imprinted polymer through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization (RAFT) successfully. The imprinted polymer was made with a mixture of RAFT agent, 4-vinylpyridine (4-VP), POSS monomer [PSS-(1-propylmethacrylate)-heptaisobutyl substituted, MA 0702], and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA), with ketoprofen (KET) as template. The influence of polymerization variables, the amount of RAFT agent and POSS monomer, the ratio of KET to 4-VP, and the ratio of 4-VP to EDMA, were investigated on the retention factor and imprinting effect. The greatest imprinting factor of the RAFT agent-based POSS MIP was 15.2, about 1.5 times higher than the RAFT agent-free agent POSS MIP. The permeability, surface morphology, as well as pore size distribution of POSS MIP monoliths made with RAFT agent and without RAFT agent were also studied. The optimal MIP was applied to solid phase extraction for KET from commercial tablets. The mean recoveries of KET for RAFT-based POSS MIP was 85.2% with a relative standard deviation of 2.6%.