A highly selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by a simple molecular imprinting technique with a sol-gel process. Erythromycin was used as template

3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane (APTMS) as functional monomer and tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) as reticulating agent. Infrared spectroscopy

scanning electron microscopy

thermogravimetric and surface area analyses were used to characterize the composite structure and morphology in detail. The results showed that the specific surface area of MIP was 266.2 m2/g. These imprinted polymer particles had perfect spherical shape with average size of 600 nm and exhibited especially selective recognition for erythromycin. Equilibrium binding experiment showed that the separation factor was 2.20 when erythromycin was separated by using MIP. The elution condition was optimized

and the optimal condition was methane: acetic acid (75∶25

V/V) as eluent

and the optimal elution volume was 15 mL. The recovery of erythromycin was 103.1% by using 15 mL mixture of methane: acetic acid (75∶25

V/V) as eluent. Packed in solid phase extraction column

the polymer was used to extract erythromycin from erythromycin enteric\|coated tablets. The results indicated that the polymer can separation and enrich erythromycin from erythromycin enteric\|coated tablets successfully with the recovery of 104.5%.