A HIGHLY SELECTIVE SOLID-PHASE EXTRACTION SORBENT FOR PRECONCENTRATION OF SAMERIDINE MADE BY MOLECULAR IMPRINTING

A novel approach to solid phase extraction, biased on the use of a hig hly selective molecularly imprinted polymer, is presented. The versati lity of this type of sorbent for solid phase extraction was demonstrat ed in a model batch-wise pre-concentration of sameridine prior to gas chromatography. Problems associated with leakage of remaining imprint molecules during the desorption phase could be eliminated by the use o f a close structural analogue of sameridine as the imprint species. It was found that a major benefit of the imprinted polymer was its speci ficity, which lead to distinctly cleaner chromatographic traces and ab ility to improve sensitivity by extracting sameridine from larger samp le volumes.