Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Abstract

Molecular imprinting is a process that allows for the synthesis of artificial receptors for a given target molecule based on synthetic polymers. The target molecule acts as a template around which interacting and cross-linking monomers are arranged and co-polymerized to form a cast-like shell. In essence, a molecular memory is imprinted in the polymer, which is now capable of selectively binding the target. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) thus possess the most important feature of biological antibodies - specific molecular recognition. They can thus be used in applications where selective binding events are of importance, such as immunoassays, affinity separation, biosensors, and directed synthesis and catalysis. Since its beginnings in the 1970s, the technique of molecular imprinting has greatly diversified during the last decade both from a materials point of view and from an application point of view. Still, there is much room for further improvement. The key challenges, in particular the binding site homogeneity and water compatibility of MIPs, and the possibility of synthesizing MIPs specific for proteins, are actively addressed by research groups over the World. Other important points are the conception of composite materials based on MIPs, in order to include additional interesting properties into the material, and the synthesis of very small and quasi-soluble MIPs, close in size to proteins.

Monolithic molecularly imprinted cryogel for lysozyme recognition

“…Bulk (3D), surface (2D) or partial (epitope) imprinting has been exploited for the imprinting of some proteins so far [1,7,8], among which the simplest technique is the 3D imprinting wherein acrylate chemistry is frequently used due to its water compatibility [9].…”

Modelling and Prediction of Bacterial Attachment to Polymers

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] Materials discovery is now increasingly been carried out using high throughput synthesis and characterization methods so that novel, useful areas of materials property space can be identified. [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] While high throughput experimental techniques can dramatically accelerate new materials discovery, it is essential that complementary computational and informatics techniques are also are also be used. These tools allow the efficient extraction of useful information from the large data sets generated by high throughput materials experiments.…”

Preparation of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane based imprinted monolith

“…The former, polymeric MIPs, have the advantage of simple polymerization procedure and easy tuning of porosity and surface chemistry, but may suffer from shrinking or swelling when exposed to different solvents, leading to lack of mechanical stability [3]. In contrast, inorganic materials, e.g., silica-based MIPs, can offer excellent mechanical strength and good solvent resistance.…”

“…Molecular imprinting has become a powerful method for the preparation of polymeric materials that have the ability to bind a specific chemical species [1][2][3][4], which typically involves copolymerization of functional and crosslinking monomers in the presence of a template molecule and suitable porogenic solvent. Subsequent removal of the template molecules results in molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with recognition sites that can interact with the template molecule specifically.…”