Chromatographic characterization of sulfonamide imprinted polymers

Sulfamethazine and sulfamethoxazole are anti-bacterial and anti-infective a gents. Molecular imprinted polymers of these agents were prepared by the te chnique of non-covalent molecular imprinting polymerization. The functional monomers used include methacrylic acid, 4-vinylpyridine, acrylamide or a c ombination of methacrylic acid and 4-vinylpyridine. The polymers obtained w ere packed in a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) column, and t he molecular recognition mechanism regulating the binding behavior was stud ied using chromatography. The results showed that methacrylic acid was suit able for synthesizing sulfamethazine-selective polymer, whereas 4-vinylpyri dine was suitable for sulfamethoxazole. Although these two compounds have s imilar structures, the interactions between them and the monomers are diffe rent. The selective polymers are expected to be of use for analyzing sulfon amide compounds in the food industry and clinic applications. (C) 2001 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.