The synthesis and application of a molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) as a carrier for drug delivery of Duloxetine (DUL) antipsychotic was investigated. Mimicking the natural receptors of DUL drug by synthesizing its MIP would lead to formation of some special active sites, which make able the MIP to accept only this special medicinal compound. Therefore, this MIP, which has been templated by DUL, could selectively absorb the molecules of DUL from the mediums in certain conditions and could release those chemical species in another place with different conditions. This MIP with its artificial receptors could be applied as a carrier for drug delivery applications and sustained released tablets. In order to synthesize this MIP based carrier, the precipitation polymerization method was applied. Also, methacrylic acid (MAA; as the functional monomer), 2,2-azobisissobutyronitrile (AIBN; as the initiator), and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA;as the cross-linker), were applied to obtain this sorbent. Moreover, the release kinetics of the drug was investigated by HPLC system, which was shown to be fitted with the Higuchi expressionpattern at least at 5.8, and 6.8 pHs. Finally, the results revealed that the synthesized MIP is able to be used in formulation of the sustained released tablets. Manuscript profile

To synthesize the molecular imprinted polymer (MIP), the well-known precipitation polymerization method was used. To do this, Methacrylic acid (MAA; as the functional monomer), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA; as the cross-linker), and 2,2-azobisissobutyronitrile (AIBN; as the initiator), were used. In addition, to control the release rate of Buprenorphine (BUP) from the patch, the bacterial cellulose (BC) was applied. The release process of the drug was investigated by high performance liquid chromatography(HPLC) system, which was showed to be fitted with the Higuchi expression. Moreover, the results have indicated that the obtained MIP-BC is a suitable candidate for the control released transdermal drug delivery. The work revealed that using MIP is more suitable compared to non-imprinted polymer (NIP). In addition, those results indicated that the MIP could be used as a patch for drug delivery application at least in the case of BUP drug. Manuscript profile