Selective determination of melamine in aqueous medium by molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction

A molecularly imprinted polymer able to recognize melamine in partially aqueous medium was synthesized using methacrylic acid as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linking agent. The bound specificity and selectivity of the obtained material were verified by performing binding experiments with melamine and its structural analogue, 2,4,6-trimethoxy-1,3,5- triazine, respectively, using different aqueous binding media. Finally, the ability of MIP to selectively extract melamine from two real samples, a food supplement and a freeze-dried meat sample, was demonstrated.