Molecularly imprinted polymers for arbutin and rutin by modified precipitation polymerization and their application for selective extraction of rutin in nutritional supplements

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for glycosides, arbutin (ARB) and rutin (RUT), were prepared using methacrylamide (MAM) and 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPY) as functional monomers and divinylbenzene as a crosslinker by modified precipitation polymerization. The template molecule, ARB or RUT, was first dissolved in methanol, followed by precipitation polymerization using a mixture of acetonitrile and toluene as a porogenic solvent. The molar ratios of the template molecule, MAM and 4-VPY were optimized to achieve a high molecular recognition ability for ARB and RUT. The retention and molecular recognition properties of these MIPs were evaluated in HILIC or normal-phase mode. With an increase in the acetonitrile content in the mobile phase, the retention factor of ARB or RUT was increased. Furthermore, the MIPs for ARB and RUT showed the highest imprinting factors of 3.65 and 66.5 for the template molecules, respectively. Hydrogen bonding interactions such as N⋯H-O, C=O⋯H-O and NH⋯O-H between 4-VPY or MAM and hydroxy groups of d-glucose or d-rutinose could function in the recognition of a glycone. Furthermore, hydrogen bonding interactions between functional monomers and the hydroxy group(s) of hydroquinone or quercetin could function in the recognition of an aglycone. These results suggest that the MIPs could recognize both a glycone and aglycone via hydrogen bonding interactions. Furthermore, MIPs for RUT were successfully applied to extract RUT in nutritional supplements.