Response surface methodology approach for the preparation of a molecularly imprinted polymer for solid-phase extraction of fenoxycarb pesticide in mussels.

The aim of this work was to develop an efficient method for the selective extraction and analysis of fenoxycarb, a carbamate pesticide, in mussel samples using a molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction device. The optimization of molecularly imprinted polymer synthesis was performed using the experimental design under the response surface methodology approach. A fast rebinding study and Freundlich isotherm adsorption were carried out to calculate binding capacity B, site number n, and affinity constant Kf . The optimum molecularly imprinted polymer was successfully used as sorbent of a solid-phase extraction cartridge for the determination of fenoxycarb in real mussel samples. The range of linearity was 0.3-30 mg/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.991. The limit of detection was 0.247 mg/kg. The recovery of fenoxycarb extracted from mussel samples of Mediterranean sea was 97% (n = 3) with relative standard deviation between 6 and 7% proving the reliability of the developed method.