Surface molecularly imprinted polymers with dummy templates for the separation of dencichine from Panax notoginseng

In this work, surface molecularly imprinted polymers with dummy templates were developed as the selective sorbents for preparation of dencichine from the extract of Panax notoginseng for the first time. The polymers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The performances of molecularly imprinted and non-imprinted polymers were evaluated, which included selective recognition, adsorption isotherms and adsorption kinetics. Optimization of various parameters affecting molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction, such as sample loading pH and flow rate, the composition and volume of the eluting solvent and the composition and volume of the washing solvent were investigated. Compared with NISPE, MISPE displayed improved specific adsorption performance. Dencichine with a purity of 98.7% was obtained from the aqueous extract of Panax notoginseng with the average recovery of 83.7% (n = 3).