A novel and specific molecular imprinted polymer using cellulose as a carrier for the targeted separation of quercetin from Sophora Japonica

In this study, a quercetin molecular imprinted polymer using cellulose as a carrier (CMMs@MPS@MIPs) with high selectivity for quercetin was prepared. Thermogravimetric Analysis (TG), Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscope (TEM) and X-ray diffraction （XRD） were used to analyze the material. The adsorption conditions were optimized, resulting in a CMMs@MPS@MIPs adsorption quantity of 13.19 mg g −1 . The adsorption conditions were optimized and the adsorption amount of CMMs@MPS@MIPs could reach 13.19 mg g −1 . Furthermore, the material could still retain 83.5 % of the adsorption performance after five cycles. CMMs@MPS@MIPs was used as an adsorbent to enrich quercetin in Sophora Japonica extract, and its content was greatly increased from 15.73 % to 68.79 %, which proved that CMMs@MPS@MIPs can efficiently separate and enrich quercetin. This research also provides a scientific basis for the targeted separation of target compounds in the food and pharmaceutical by molecularly imprinted polymers using natural polysaccharides as carriers.