From waste to wonder: Universiti Sains Malaysia engineers a precision adsorbent to capture antibiotic pollutants

Published on November 12, 2025, in the open-access journal Carbon Research (Volume 4, Article 69), the study introduces SiO₂@MIPs-CAPcr—a novel surface-imprinted polymer grafted onto ordered mesoporous silica—engineered specifically to capture chloramphenicol (CAP), a widely used but environmentally persistent antibiotic.

Led by Dr. Azam Taufik Mohd Din from the School of Chemical Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, the work combines cutting-edge polymer chemistry with practical environmental engineering to tackle one of today’s most pressing water quality challenges.

The Problem: Antibiotics Don’t Just Disappear

When antibiotics like chloramphenicol enter rivers, lakes, or groundwater—through agricultural runoff, pharmaceutical waste, or inadequate wastewater treatment—they don’t just vanish. They accumulate, fuel antimicrobial resistance, and disrupt ecosystems.

Conventional filtration methods often lack the precision to remove specific contaminants without also stripping beneficial minerals or requiring costly processes. What’s needed is selectivity—and reusability.

Enter SiO₂@MIPs-CAPcr: A Molecular “Lock” for CAP

The team developed their adsorbent using activator regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP)—a controlled, efficient technique that allows precise grafting of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) onto a silica scaffold.

First, they synthesized a silica-based initiator (SiO₂@Br) with uniform spherical nanoparticles, confirmed via XRD, SEM, and HRTEM. This material boasted an impressive specific surface area of 638.31 m²·g⁻¹ and a total pore volume of 0.4152 cm³·g⁻¹—ideal for high-capacity adsorption.

Then, using CAP as a template, they grew a thin MIP layer around it. After removing the template, the resulting cavities perfectly matched the size, shape, and chemical features of CAP molecules—like a lock waiting for its key.

FTIR, TGA, TEM, and XRD analyses confirmed successful polymer grafting. As expected, the final SiO₂@MIPs-CAPcr showed reduced surface area and pore volume compared to the bare silica—but gained extraordinary selectivity.

Performance That Delivers

Under optimized batch conditions, the adsorbent achieved a maximum CAP adsorption capacity of 19.68 mg·g⁻¹, following a pseudo-second-order kinetic model. Thermodynamic analysis revealed the process was spontaneous and exothermic—meaning it works efficiently even at ambient temperatures.

Most impressively, SiO₂@MIPs-CAPcr showed strong preference for CAP over structurally similar antibiotics like thiamphenicol (TAP) and ciprofloxacin (CIP). Even after four regeneration cycles, it retained over 93% of its original capacity—losing only 6.87%—proving its robustness and cost-effectiveness.

“This isn’t just about adsorption—it’s about intelligent design,” says Dr. Azam Taufik Mohd Din, corresponding author and researcher at Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Engineering Campus in Nibong Tebal, Penang. “By combining molecular imprinting with ordered mesoporous silica, we’ve created a material that’s both highly specific and durable.”

A Malaysian Innovation with Global Impact

Based at one of Southeast Asia’s top research universities, Dr. Azam’s lab exemplifies how advanced chemical engineering can address real-world sustainability challenges. Universiti Sains Malaysia—particularly its School of Chemical Engineering—has emerged as a regional leader in materials science for environmental applications.

And because the paper is published open access, scientists, water treatment facilities, and regulatory agencies worldwide can immediately apply these insights—accelerating deployment beyond the lab.

The Bigger Picture: Tailored Solutions for a Cleaner Planet

This breakthrough isn’t limited to chloramphenicol. The same ARGET ATRP-driven approach can be adapted to target other pollutants—pesticides, hormones, industrial dyes—simply by changing the molecular template.

In a world where water security and antibiotic resistance are urgent global priorities, SiO₂@MIPs-CAPcr offers more than performance. It offers precision. Reusability. And hope.

Thanks to the ingenuity of Dr. Azam Taufik Mohd Din and his team at Universiti Sains Malaysia, the future of water purification is not just cleaner—it’s smarter, one molecule at a time.

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Journal reference:  Mohamed Idris, Z., Enche Ab Rahim, S.K., Hameed, B.H. et al. ARGET ATRP based surface-imprinted polymer-ordered mesoporous silica composites for selective chloramphenicol adsorption. Carbon Res. 4, 69 (2025).   

https://doi.org/10.1007/s44246-025-00233-5  

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About Carbon Research

The journal Carbon Research is an international multidisciplinary platform for communicating advances in fundamental and applied research on natural and engineered carbonaceous materials that are associated with ecological and environmental functions, energy generation, and global change. It is a fully Open Access (OA) journal and the Article Publishing Charges (APC) are waived until Dec 31, 2025. It is dedicated to serving as an innovative, efficient and professional platform for researchers in the field of carbon functions around the world to deliver findings from this rapidly expanding field of science. The journal is currently indexed by Scopus and Ei Compendex, and as of June 2025, the dynamic CiteScore value is 15.4.

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