Towards the use of molecularly imprinted polymers containing imidazoles and bivalent metal complexes for the detection and degradation of organophosphotriester pesticides

For the preparation of an enzyme mimic for phosphotriester hydrolysis, we have introduced catalytic groups in a polymer, mimicking the structure of the catalytic center of the enzyme phosphotriesterase. The polymers containing Co2+¯imidazole complexes show a hydrolyric activity which was 20 times higher than polymers containing only imidazole or a solution containing only cobalt ions. Additionally, a molecularly imprinted polymer that was synthesized using a paraoxon analogue as template showed higher paraoxon hydrolysis activity than a control polymer prepared in the same way but without the template molecule.