Molecularly Imprinted Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) for the Selective Absorption of Diosgenin from Ethanolic Solutions

Abstract

Molecular imprinting is a novel method for designing materials with molecular memory, which consists of cavities bearing the shape and size of a template molecule. The cavities are highly specific towards the molecule that imprints the polymer, making molecularly imprinted materials suitable for use in separations. In this work, a new method of alternative molecular imprinting to design imprinted poly (vinyl alcohol) [PVA] films has been proposed. Diosgenin has been used as template molecule. To demonstrate the obtaining of the molecular imprinted PVA and its selectivity, studies of diosgenin sorption and desorption have been done.