Tetracyclines and an Overview of the Preconcentration/Extractions Method Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Tetracyclines (TCs), a group of broad-spectrum antibiotics used for the treatment and prevention of bacterial infections in both humans and animals, as well as growth promotion agent for the rapid animal growth and weight gain, has been considered emerging pollutant due to the presence of its residues in foodstuff and environment, which may can cause endocrine, reproductive, and metabolic dysfunction in addition to bacterial resistance. Due to their low concentration, varieties and the complexity of matrices, effective recognition, separation, and enrichment are usually required prior to determination. In this sense, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been widely used in sample pre-treatment as selective adsorbents for extraction, preconcentration, detection and separation of TCs, due to their intrinsic selective properties. However, the success of MIPs synthesis depends on fully understanding the preparation process. Therefore, the proposal of this review is to provide a general overview the influence of relevant parameters on the production processes of tetracyclines-imprinted polymers and its applications as an adsorbent material for determination of TCs residues in animal derived food.