Molecularly imprinted polymer as a solid phase extraction sorbent material for atrazine clean-up

Abstract

Atrazine is an herbicide used as weeds control and it is harmful to environment and human health. The detection of atrazine exists in environment always interfered by other matrices when using conventional extraction methods. Therefore, molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for atrazine had been synthesized in order to achieve good reproducibility and more accurate result. MIP was prepared via bulk polymerization technique with atrazine as a template. Methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethylene glycol methacrylate acid (EGDMA) were used as monomers and crosslinker respectively. In order to increase pores size of sorbent, acetonitrile with toluene was used as porogen and while azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) was used as initiator. NIP was prepared following the same methodology as of with MIP but no addition of template. The polymers were then ground and sieved in the range size of 25 – 38 µm and used as sorbent material for solid phase extraction (SPE).