Molecularly imprinted fluorescent-shift receptors prepared with 2-(trifluoromethyl)acrylic acid

Methacrylic acid (MAA) and 2- (trifluoromethyl)acrylic acid (TFMAA) were us ed to prepare molecularly imprinted polymers exhibiting diastereoselectivit y for cinchona alkaloids. Fluorescent spectra of the cinchona alkaloid exhi bit a characteristic shift through binding to these polymer particles, orig inating most likely from the highly acidic residues in the imprinted polyme rs acting as a proton donator. Our results show that TFMAA based imprinted polymers can be used as polymer reagents for quantitating the cinchona alka loid bound to the polymers without bound/free separation.