Preparation of restricted access media molecularly imprinted polymers for efficient separation and enrichment ofloxacin in bovine serum samples

We prepared ofloxacin restricted access media molecularly imprinted polymers using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization on the surface of brominated silica gel using ofloxacin as a template molecule, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a crosslinking agent. We then characterized and studied the surface morphology and adsorption properties of the polymer. Experimental results show that saturation is reached within 25 min, and that the saturated adsorption capacity was 80.67 mg/g and the imprinting factor was 1.94. Our findings also showed that the polymer surface had good hydrophilicity and an excellent protein exclusion rate, which was 98.49%. The restricted access media molecularly imprinted polymers were then successfully applied to the enrichment and separation of ofloxacin in bovine serum. When combined with high-performance liquid chromatography, and the average recovery of ofloxacin was 95.6%, and the relative standard deviation was in the range of 2.47-3.38%. In a word, the restricted access media molecularly imprinted polymers is a method that involves a simple preparation procedure that results in excellent performance, which is a great improvement in the speed of detection of antibiotics. These qualities are what bestow upon this method its great potential for broad application.