Selective extraction and concentration of mebendazole in seawater samples using molecularly imprinted polymer as sorbent

A high selective pre-treatment method for the extraction and analysis of mebendazole in environmental water samples was developed based on molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE). The mebendazole imprinted polymers were synthesized in acetonitrile using methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as functional monomer and cross-linker respectively. The imprinted materials showed high adsorption ability for mebendazole and were applied as special solid-phase extraction sorbents for selective separation of mebendazole. An off-line MISPE procedure was developed for the purification and enrichment of mebendazole from natural seawater samples prior to high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The recoveries of spiked seawater on the MISPE cartridges were from 83.0% to 90.6%, and the values of the relative standard deviation were in the range of 2.78-4.13% (n = 3). The satisfied results showed that this pre-treatment methodology for extracting mebendazole in seawater was simple and effective.