An imprinted interpenetrating polymer network for microextraction in packed syringe of carbamazepine

- An interlocked styrene/silica interpenetrating polymer network was synthesized.
- The synthesized polymer was implemented as an extraction medium.
- The developed method was applied to isolate carbamazepine from urine samples.
- The molecularly imprinted network showed some degree of selectivity towards carbamazepine.

An imprinted interpenetrating polymer network (IPN) was synthesized and used as a medium for isolation of carbamazepine from urine samples. The polymer network consisted of a homogeneous polystyrene-sol gel hybrid constructed by in-situ radical polymerization method. In this process, within the sol-gel reaction duration, styrene monomer could penetrate into the reaction mixture and after the polymerization initiation, a monolithic IPN structure was prepared. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDX) are indications of the polystyrene dispersion at nano- to micro-meter level in the sol gel matrix. Eventually, the synthesized IPN was used as a sorbent in microextraction in packed syringe (MEPS) combined with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for isolation of carbamazepine, naproxen and dexamethasone from urine samples. The molecularly imprinted IPN showed some degree of selectivity towards carbamazepine. To assess the important parameters influencing the extraction and desorption processes, an experimental design strategy was used. By the current method, low limits of detection (1.3-1.5 μg L−1) and quantification (4.2-5 μg L−1) were achieved (hydrocortisone as the internal standard). The intra- and inter-day precision data at 50 and 300 μg L−1 were 1.3-7.4%, while the working linear dynamic range was from 4.2 to 500 μg L−1.