Extraction of Ascorbic Acid by Using Nano-Reactors
Researchers at Iran's National Institute for Oceanography and K. N. Tousi University of Technology succeeded in the extraction of ascorbic acid through molecularly imprinted polymer method in aqueous media.
The synthesis of molecular imprinted polymers as an imitation of biological receptor has drawn the attraction of many researchers in recent years. In these methods, a molecular imprint actually enters a polymeric network, and after its extraction, voids in size and shape of the imprint remain in the polymer network. The obtained polymer is used for selective extraction purposes.
In this research, ascorbic acid was used as a biological imprint. The simultaneous measurement of ascorbic acid in the presence of dopamine in biological environment has always been a challenge. According to the research, the polymerization of pyrrole in addition to the molecules of ascorbic acid imprint on SBA-15 silica bed enabled the synthesis of molecular imprint polymer in an aqueous media. This approach also made possible the synthesis of the molecular imprint polymer at nanometric scale, which resulted in advantages in the molecular imprint polymer such as increase in the adsorption capacity and in the mass transfer rate.
"In this research, SBA-15 hexagonal channels are used as nano-reactor in order to carry out the reaction between the imprint molecules and monomers. The use of polypyrrole bed for the molecular imprint process and overcoming the problems in the synthesis of molecular imprint polymers in aqueous media are among other characteristics of the research," Dr. Ali Mehdiniya, a member of the Scientific Board of Iran's National Institute for Oceanography, said.
The research can be considered a step towards the green synthesis of molecular imprint polymers in order to solve the low kinetic problem of the common molecular imprint polymers.
Source: Nanotechnology Now
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