Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a class of antidepressants regularly detected in the environment. This indicates that the existing wastewater treatment techniques are not successfully removing them beforehand. This study investigated the potential of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to serve as sorbents for removal of SSRIs in water treatment. Sertraline was chosen as the template for imprinting. We optimized the composition of MIPs in order to obtain materials with highest capacity, affinity, and selectivity for sertraline. We report the maximum capacity of MIP for sertraline in water at 72.6 mg g-1, and the maximum imprinting factor at 3.7. The MIPs were cross-reactive towards other SSRIs and the metabolite norsertraline. They showed a stable performance in wastewater-relevant pH range between 6 and 8, and were reusable after a short washing cycle. Despite having a smaller surface area between 27.4 and 193.8 m2·g-1, as compared to that of the activated carbon at 1400 m2·g-1, their sorption capabilities in wastewaters were generally superior. The MIPs with higher surface area and pore volume that formed more non-specific interactions with the targets considerably contributed to the overall removal efficiency, which made them better suited for use in wastewater treatment.
Keywords: SSRI; cross-reactivity; molecular imprinting; polymer; sertraline; sorbent; template; wastewater treatment.