A molecularly imprinted polymer as artificial receptor for the detection of indole-3-carbinol

Molecularly imprinting polymer technology is used to prepare a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the selectiverecognition of indole-3-carbinol (I3C), a chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic phytochemical associated with the anticancer activ-ities of cruciferous vegetables. Prepolymerization study via nuclear magnetic resonance technique is done to choose the best func-tional monomer that establishes more interaction with the template. The prepared MIP is tested before in batch experiments andsubsequently used as solid-phase extraction sorbent for the selective detection of I3C from standard solutions. In order to verify theselectivity of the MIP, the binding of structurally related compounds, such as indole-3-acetonitrile, teophylline, and tryptophan, onthe polymer is investigated. The experiments indicate that the MIP is highly selective for I3C with an association constant ofKa5(1.3760.07)3103M21. Standard mixture solution loaded on MIP-SPE cartridge give a recovery of 95% for I3C, while theother compounds are totally eluted during washing step.