| Abstract: | Imprinted polymers were synthesized using a mixture of pigments, N‐glutamyl‐rubropuctamine, and N‐glutamyl‐monascorubramine (I) as the template, and 2‐methacrylamido‐6‐picoline or 4‐aminostyrene as functional monomers, to obtain recognition materials capable of forming hydrogen bonds and charge interactions, respectively, with carboxyl groups of target I in the binding sites. The polymers were prepared thermally at a template loading of 5 mol% using ethylene‐glycol dimethacrylate or trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate as crosslinkers and acetonitrile or tetrahydrofuran as porogens. The selective binding of I to both types of polymer was demonstrated, although aminostyrene‐based materials showed higher overall adsorption and were studied in more detail. It was shown that the kinetics of binding of I from ethyl‐acetate extracts of fermented Monascus sp. was very rapid and virtually all the pigment adsorbed can be released by washing the polymer with ethanol–water mixtures. The feasibility of reusing imprinted polymer in consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles was also demonstrated. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Biotechnol Bioeng 64: 232–239, 1999. |
