Electrosynthesis of molecularly imprinted polypyrrole for the antibiotic levofloxacin

The development of an electrosynthesized imprinted polypyrrole (PPY) film onto a platinum sheet as sorbent phase for a fluoroquinolone antibiotic (levofloxacin) is described. Experimental conditions for the electropolymerization of PPY in the presence of the template were optimized. The molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film was characterized by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) to verify the template entrapment in the polymeric matrix. After being subject to washing procedures, MIP was analyzed by XPS and a very satisfactory template removal was estimated being equal to 83%. The effectiveness of washing protocol was assessed also by UV–vis and High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis of corresponding washing solutions. Rebinding experiments were performed by exposing the imprinted PPY film to levofloxacin solutions, subsequently analyzed by HPLC. The effect of solvent and time of exposure was investigated. The imprinting effect was verified by comparing recognition abilities of both MIP and not imprinted polymer (a polymer prepared in the same conditions but in the absence of the template).