Making imprinted polymers work in water: Engineering interfaces for better resveratrol separation

IF 4.4 3区工程技术 Q2 ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL

AIChE Journal Pub Date : 2026-09-21 DOI:10.1002/aic.70661

Chen Yang, Hongyan Zhang, Wanqi Du, Zijian Zhang, Minjia Meng

{"title":"Making imprinted polymers work in water: Engineering interfaces for better resveratrol separation","authors":"Chen Yang, Hongyan Zhang, Wanqi Du, Zijian Zhang, Minjia Meng","doi":"10.1002/aic.70661","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"The practical application of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in aqueous separations is critically hindered by an inherent trade‐off between binding capacity and selectivity, stemming from non‐specific hydrophobic interactions. Addressing this challenge, this work establishes a robust structure–performance relationship by precisely engineering the interfacial hydrophilicity of resveratrol‐imprinted microspheres via epoxide ring‐opening. Systematically varying the modification chemistry achieved wide‐range tunability of surface wettability, with water contact angles (WCA) spanning 124.4°–19.9°. An optimal amphiphilic balance (WCA = 52.5°) using zwitterionic glycine delivered a high adsorption capacity of 43.14 mg g −1 and an imprinting factor of 2.08 under competitive aqueous conditions. Supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the optimized interface fosters a synergistic hydration shield, effectively repelling interfering species while facilitating targeted resveratrol capture. Our findings resolve the critical capacity‐selectivity paradox, providing a generalizable paradigm for developing high‐performance separation materials for complex aqueous streams in bio‐processing and pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.","PeriodicalId":120,"journal":{"name":"AIChE Journal","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4000,"publicationDate":"2026-09-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"AIChE Journal","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1002/aic.70661","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

The practical application of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in aqueous separations is critically hindered by an inherent trade‐off between binding capacity and selectivity, stemming from non‐specific hydrophobic interactions. Addressing this challenge, this work establishes a robust structure–performance relationship by precisely engineering the interfacial hydrophilicity of resveratrol‐imprinted microspheres via epoxide ring‐opening. Systematically varying the modification chemistry achieved wide‐range tunability of surface wettability, with water contact angles (WCA) spanning 124.4°–19.9°. An optimal amphiphilic balance (WCA = 52.5°) using zwitterionic glycine delivered a high adsorption capacity of 43.14 mg g −1 and an imprinting factor of 2.08 under competitive aqueous conditions. Supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, the optimized interface fosters a synergistic hydration shield, effectively repelling interfering species while facilitating targeted resveratrol capture. Our findings resolve the critical capacity‐selectivity paradox, providing a generalizable paradigm for developing high‐performance separation materials for complex aqueous streams in bio‐processing and pharmaceutical wastewater treatment.

查看原文本刊更多论文

使印迹聚合物在水中工作：更好地分离白藜芦醇的工程界面

分子印迹聚合物（MIPs）在水分离中的实际应用受到非特异性疏水相互作用产生的结合力和选择性之间固有的权衡的严重阻碍。为了解决这一挑战，本研究通过环氧化物开环精确地设计白藜芦醇印迹微球的界面亲水性，建立了强大的结构-性能关系。系统地改变修饰化学可以实现表面润湿性的大范围可调，水接触角（WCA）范围为124.4°-19.9°。在竞争条件下，两性离子甘氨酸的最佳两亲性平衡（WCA = 52.5°）吸附量为43.14 mg g−1，印迹因子为2.08。在分子动力学（MD）模拟的支持下，优化的界面形成了一个协同的水化屏蔽，有效地排斥干扰物质，同时促进靶向白藜芦醇的捕获。我们的研究结果解决了临界容量-选择性悖论，为开发用于生物处理和制药废水处理中复杂水流的高性能分离材料提供了一个可推广的范例。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文求助全文

来源期刊

AIChE Journal 工程技术-工程：化工

CiteScore

7.10

自引率

10.80%

发文量

411

审稿时长

3.6 months

期刊介绍： The AIChE Journal is the premier research monthly in chemical engineering and related fields. This peer-reviewed and broad-based journal reports on the most important and latest technological advances in core areas of chemical engineering as well as in other relevant engineering disciplines. To keep abreast with the progressive outlook of the profession, the Journal has been expanding the scope of its editorial contents to include such fast developing areas as biotechnology, electrochemical engineering, and environmental engineering. The AIChE Journal is indeed the global communications vehicle for the world-renowned researchers to exchange top-notch research findings with one another. Subscribing to the AIChE Journal is like having immediate access to nine topical journals in the field. Articles are categorized according to the following topical areas: Biomolecular Engineering, Bioengineering, Biochemicals, Biofuels, and Food Inorganic Materials: Synthesis and Processing Particle Technology and Fluidization Process Systems Engineering Reaction Engineering, Kinetics and Catalysis Separations: Materials, Devices and Processes Soft Materials: Synthesis, Processing and Products Thermodynamics and Molecular-Scale Phenomena Transport Phenomena and Fluid Mechanics.