Synthesis of a Nanostructure Molecularly Imprinted Copolymer for Separation of Antifungal Bioactive Di-(2 -Ethylhexyl) Phthalate from Biocontrol Fungi Metabolites

Among biocontrol fungi, Trichoderma species produce a wide range of bioactive compounds with antifungal activities. In this study, Di-(2-Ethylhexyl) Phthalate (DEHP) is identified via gas chromatographymass spectrometry (GC-MS) device in Trichoderma atroviridae (1-3) secondary metabolites and its antifungal effectiveness is confirmed. An eco-friendly approach for the extraction of DEHP is carried out by a nanoporous molecularly imprinted methacrylic acid-based network copolymer as a solid sorbent. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthesized by precipitation polymerization using DEHP as a template, methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer, and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM) as a cross-linker with molecular ratio (1: 4: 8). After the removal of DEHP, the nanoporous polymer could recognize and rebind specifically the same or structurally very similar molecules. The synthesized MIPs exhibit a suitable tendency to absorb the template with the highest binding capacity of 300 mg/g for DEHP in n-Hexane solvent as a solid phase extraction (SPE) system. The measured particle size of the MIPs with dynamic light scattering (DLS) is reported at 75.38 nm. In addition, the porosity of the MIPs is evaluated by nitrogen gas adsorption/desorption using Brouneur Emmet Teller (BET) analysis. Results indicate that nanoporous MIPs with an average pore diameter of 2.70 nm and a specific surface area of 309 (cm^3/g) is achieved. According to the above- mentioned results, nanoporous MIPs could be considered as an acceptable candidate for the separation of antifungal bioactive compounds (natural fungicide) such as DEHP as an eco-friendly method in order to replace chemical pesticides.