Bioinspired synthesis of pDA/SiO₂-based porous ciprofloxacin-imprinted nanocomposite membrane by a polydopamine-assisted organic-inorganic method

Development of membrane-associated molecularly imprinted materials that can rapidly recognize and separate specific compounds has broad technological applications for areas ranging from sewage treatments to biomedical devices. However, issues such as low permselectivity and unstable composite structures are restricting it from developing stage to a higher level. Here, inspired by the bioadhesive technology of polydopamine (pDA), a novel porous pDA/SiO₂-based molecularly imprinted nanocomposite membranes (PMINcMs) strategy was developed and obtained. The as-prepared PMINcMs were synthesized through an in situ AGET-ATRP method by using ciprofloxacin as template molecule. Importantly, largely enhanced specific rebinding capacity (64.54 mg/g) and permselectivity (the permeability factor β was larger than 2.27) had be successfully achieved, which should be attributing to the formation of high-stability and uniform growth of ciprofloxacin-imprinted layers onto the pDA/SiO₂-based surfaces. Additionally, the PMINcMs not only exhibited rapid adsorption dynamics of template molecule, but also possessed excellent regeneration performance. All synthesis methods were conducted in water at ambient temperature, which was environmental friendly for scaling up without causing pollution.