Optimization of Preparation Method of Molecularly Imprinted Microspheres by Uniform Design

This work presented a simple and effective method for the preparation of molecularly imprinted microspheres (MIMPs) through multi-step swelling polymerization. To prepare carbofuran MIMP with a uniform size, the experiment of optimizing the dosage of reagents which used during synthesis based on uniform design (UD) method was performed. Six kinds of factors, namely methacrylic acid (MAA, functional monomer), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA, cross linker), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA, dispersant), dibutyl phthalate (DBP, sweller), polymerization temperature and polymerization speed were taken into account based on UD to perform the optimization experiment. The micromorphology of MIMP was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and it showed that the particle sizes were between 6-8 μm. The results indicated that MIMP possessed good selectivity and specificity for carbofuran, which was an excellent material for adsorption and testing of carbofuran residues in food and environment.