Synthesis of nanomagnetic biomimetic polymers for tetracycline

• Grant number: 13/18614-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): November 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): May 31, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Maria Del Pilar Taboada Sotomayor
• Grantee: Tatiana Harumi Okubo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

A current global priority is directly related to food safety, being a matter of public interest and trade, in order to protect the health of consumers. Thus, for an efficient control of possible contaminants, such as the presence of antibiotic residues (e.g. tetracycline), comes the need to develop analytical techniques fast, reliable , environmentally friendly and sensitive, that can detect pathogens or toxic in different matrices. Tetracycline acts both in human and in veterinary medicine. Their use has been restricted by the appearing of drug resistance. In additon, this antibiotic is not absorbed completely by the organism, so there its excretion in feces and urine, resulting in the contamination of sewage treatment plants and natural waters, thereby causing harm to human health and the aquatic ecosystem. On these bases, this project aims the synthesis of nanomagnetic beads modifying with a rigid three-dimensional molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) around of the tetracycline (template molecule), also named biomimetic polymer, and then application will be evaluated in milk and/or urine samples. The MIP 's are promising for the development of systems with biomimetic recognition interactions similar to antigen-antibody affinity. Moreover, they have advantages in relation to biological systems due to its low cost, simple preparation and resistance to adverse environments. These new nanomagnetic materials allow to detect the analyte through a selective interaction, as well as their separation into a complex matrix by applying an external magnetic field. Thus, the use of the magnetic nanoparticles is a strategy that improves the analytical performance, increasing the sensitivity of the method of analysis. The nanomagnetic-MIP for tetracycline will be prepared by the polymerization by precipitation. Then, the analysis of their efficiency will be carried out by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and solid phase extraction, which will carried out through adsorption experiments and optimizing important analytical parameters, such as extraction and pre-concentrations solvents, pH, temperature and interaction time, in order to obtain the adsorption isotherms, breakthrough curves and selectivity of the synthesized nanomaterial. Finally, the application of these materials will be in real samples of milk and/or urine. (AU)