Synthesis and sorption performance of highly specific imprinted particles for the direct recovery of carminic acid

Carminic acid (CA) is a colorant of natural origin, which is demanded by the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In this work, a selective finite bath process was developed based on the utilization of molecularly imprinted polymeric particles. Such adsorbent was synthesized in a (porous) particle shaped form employing methacrylic acid (MAA) and 4-vinylpyridine (4Vpy) as monomers and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDGMA) as a cross-linker. The imprinted particles were characterized by surface area, surface charge and pore size determination. The adsorption behavior of CA on such a material followed a Langmuir–Freundlich isotherm. Maximum capacity at equilibrium reached 0.64 mmol/g (316 mg/g) and maximum available binding sites 1.8 mmol/g (917 mg/g) were observed for an association coefficient value of 1.5 mM^?1. Further, the imprinting factor; showing the strength of interaction of CA to the polymer, was calculated as 13 while the selectivity factor depicted a value of 15. The data presented indicates that the imprinted adsorbent could be conveniently utilized for the recovery of CA, from cochineal extract, in the finite bath mode of operation.