The gatifloxacin molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) microsphere was prepared via precipitation polymerization. The morphologies and structures of the microsphere were characterized, and the polymerization reaction conditions were optimized. The static adsorption experiments were performed to investigate the adsorption properties and selective recognition characteristics of the polymer for the template molecule and its structural analogues. The results showed that the adsorption equilibrium of MIP for the substrates was achieved in 40 min under the optimized conditions. There existed two types of binding sites in the MIP, and the maximum adsorption capacities of specific and non-specific sites were 363 and 458 µmol/g, respectively. Compared with the corresponding non-imprinted polymer, the MIP exhibited better selective adsorption performance for quinolone antibiotics. The MIP prepared by precipitation polymerization was easy to regeneration, and it still could recognize effectively quinolone antibiotics 3 months later.

Key words: gatifloxacin, molecularly imprinted polymer, specific adsorption