Desorption of 3,3′-diindolylmethane from imprinted particles: An impact of cross-linker structure on binding capacity and selectivity

A Note about Crosslinking Density in Imprinting Polymerization

“…The properties of the crosslinker also make a difference in the surface area, pore size, and binding capacity of the resulting polymer, as well as the structure of the prepolymerization complex [36,42,44,[66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74]. The intermolecular forces between the template, monomer, crosslinker, and solvent drive the formation of the prepolymerization complex, as was confirmed by several computational studies [66][67][68][69][70][71]73,74].…”

“…The properties of the crosslinker also make a difference in the surface area, pore size, and binding capacity of the resulting polymer, as well as the structure of the prepolymerization complex [ 36 , 42 , 44 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. The intermolecular forces between the template, monomer, crosslinker, and solvent drive the formation of the prepolymerization complex, as was confirmed by several computational studies [ 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 73 , 74 ]. For stronger binding, it may require additional binding events occurring during oligomer formation, depending on the exact system [ 75 ].…”

“…The strongest binding to the template occurs when the intermolecular forces match between all compounds in the mixture. When properties such as polarity differ, phase separation can occur, especially with compounds that easily crystallize, such as methyl methacrylate [ 70 , 71 ]. As with porogens, that can cause phase separation, which leads to denser structures and less surface area.…”

“…As with porogens, that can cause phase separation, which leads to denser structures and less surface area. Functional monomers and crosslinkers participate in the prepolymerization according to their molar ratios and matching intermolecular forces [36,42,44,[66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74]. This often results in a variety of structurally different prepolymerization complexes, since the strength of binding with compounds of similar properties can be similar [72,73].…”