A Core-Shell Amino-Functionalized Magnetic Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Based on Glycidyl Methacrylate for Dispersive Solid-Phase Microextraction of Aniline

Abstract

A core-shell amino-functionalized glycidyl methacrylate magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was synthesized by the suspension polymerization/surface imprinting method and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), mercury porosimetry, nitrogen gas adsorption–desorption, and elemental analysis. This MIP was used as the sorbent in dispersive solid-phase microextraction (DSPME) of aniline from textile wastewater prior to high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) measurements. Since aniline is toxic and a probable human carcinogen, its determination in water is of great significance. This is a challenging task because aniline is usually present at trace levels. The effects of different DSPME variables on the preconcentration efficiency have been studied by using the Plackett–Burman screening design of experiments (DoE) followed by response surface methodology optimization using the Box-Behnken design. Thus, DoE enabled the investigation of several variables simultaneously. Under optimized conditions, aniline was effectively and selectively separated by a small amount of the DSPME sorbent and detected in real textile wastewater samples. The method detection limit of 1 ng mL−1 was attained, with good method linearity and acceptable recovery and precision. The results showed that the studied MIP could be a reliable DSPME sorbent for efficiently analyzing trace aniline in real wastewater samples.