Molecularly imprinted polymers from nicotinamide and its positional isomers

Imprinted polymers were prepared for nicotinamide and its positional isomer s, The influence of porogenic solvent and functional monomer on recognition properties of the polymer was compared. The results indicated that two fun ctional groups, the heterocyclic nitrogen and the amide group, in the nicot inamide or isonicotinamide molecule have a synergistic effect in binding to the polymer. The polymers prepared with nicotinamide and isonicotinamide c an be used as HPLC stationary phase for the separation of positional isomer s of nicotinamide or isonicotinamide, while the polymer prepared with picol inamide showed no specificity toward the template. The mechanisms for the d ifferences in recognition are discussed, In addition to the retention of po lymers to their templates the polymers also displayed excellent retention t o nicotinic acid and isonicotinic acid, compounds structurally similar to t he template, This dual recognition property of the polymer may be useful in circumstances where the preparation of a polymer for a specific template m ay be problematic because of poor stability or solubility. Copyright (C) 20 01 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.