A target analogue imprinted polymer for the recognition of antiplatelet active ingredients in Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae by LC/MS/MS

The purpose of this study was to prepare a propyl gallate (PrG) molecular imprinted polymer as a cartridge stuffing material to isolate antiplatelet active ingredients. A macroporous polymer was synthesized utilizing ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the crosslinking agent, PrG as the template molecule and 4-vinylpyridine (4-Vpy) as the functional monomer. Subsequently, PrG was removed by washing with methanol–glacial acetic acid (9:1, v/v). The molecular imprinted polymer recognized an active ingredient, protocatechuic acid, from a crude extract of the Chinese herbal medicine, Radix Salviae Miltiorrhizae (Danshen), using an on-line column switching solid phase extraction process. Pharmacological experiments showed that protocatechuic acid inhibits arachidonic acid (10 mg/kg) induced aggregation of rat platelets in vivo. This study provides an example of an application of separation-analysis technique for screening potentially bioactive compounds.