Molecularly imprinted calixarene fiber for solid-phase microextraction of four organophosphorous pesticides in fruits

Calixarene was used as a functional monomer to fabricate a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) by sol-gel technique for solid-phase microextraction (SPME) of parathion-methyl and its structural analogs. The MIP-coated fiber possessed excellent thermal and chemical stability as well as high extraction capacity. Its selectivity and possible recognition mechanism were investigated. The similarities in molecular shape and functional group play a key role in the selective recognition of the imprinted material. Any changes to the structure of the template would decrease the imprinting factor. A comparison of MIP-SPME was made with liquid-liquid extraction coupled with gas chromatography for the determination of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) in fruits. Much lower limits of detection and better recoveries were achieved by SPME in spiked apple and pineapple samples. The experiment demonstrates that the proposed method using the calixarene MIP fiber was more suitable for selective determination of trace OPPs in those fruit samples. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.