Porous molecularly imprinted beads for highly specific separation of 10-hydroxycamptothecine: An imprinted strategy based on modified cellulose hydrogel

10-hydroxycamptothecine (HCPT), known as a natural alkaloid with significant anti-cancer properties in Camptotheca acuminata, has valuable application prospects in health and medicine and has attracted worldwide attention especially in the field of cancer research. In this study, a porous cellulose hydrogel-based molecularly imprinted bead (PCH@MIBs) with high affinity and selectivity was prepared and served as novel fillers of solid phase extraction (SPE) for selectively separating HCPT. The combination of polydopamine (PDA) modified cellulose hydrogel and highly selective molecular imprinting technology enabled the efficient and targeted adsorption for template molecules. The mixture of nano-calcium carbonate and cellulose solution underwent a reaction with an acidic coagulation bath, which endowed the cellulose hydrogel beads with porous structures. Porous cellulose hydrogel beads were coated with a PDA layer, followed by the preparation of PCH@MIBs using HCPT as template molecules and acrylamide (AM) as functional monomers, resulting in hydrogel-based materials with specific adsorption cavities matched to HCPT. The PCH@MIBs exhibited excellent adsorption capacity (57.87 mg·g−1) and adsorption selectivity (IF = 3.75), as well as good reusability (5 of cycles). The PCH@MIBs were successfully used to separate HCPT from C. acuminata fruits, with an impressive adsorption capacity (0.0974 mg·g−1) and recovery of HCPT (91.27 %). Mechanism analysis demonstrated that the recognition of PCH@MIBs was primarily achieved through non-covalent interactions between AM and HCPT, specifically hydrogen bonds and Van der Waals forces. This work proposes a novel strategy for constructing porous cellulose-based molecularly imprinted hydrogel beads to specific capture targeted compound, which have broad potential for practical application.