Special Issue "Molecularly Imprinted Polymers in Biomedical Applications"

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Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Journal of Functional Biomaterials (ISSN 2079-4983).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2012)

Special Issue Editors

Guest Editor
Dr. Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo
Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Website: http://www.usc.es/i+dfarma/
E-Mail: carmen.alvarez.lorenzo@usc.es
Phone: +34 981563100
Fax: +34 981547148
Interests: stimuli-sensitive materials; biomimetic materials; molecularly imprinted drug delivery systems; polymeric micelles; combination products; drug-eluting medical devices

Guest Editor
Dr. Angel Concheiro
Departamento de Farmacia y Tecnología Farmacéutica, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, Spain
Website: http://www.usc.es/i+dfarma/
E-Mail: angel.concheiro@usc.es
Interests: stimuli-sensitive materials; biomimetic materials; molecularly imprinted drug delivery systems; polymeric micelles; combination products; drug-eluting medical devices; oral delivery systems; cell scaffolds

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Polymer networks endowed with the ability to recognize specific molecules have an enormous interest in the biomedical field. The application of the molecular imprinting technology to the design of tailored receptors for drugs, bioactive molecules, therapeutic peptides and biomacrolecules is opening novel, amazing possibilities. Advanced drug delivery systems able to precisely regulate the release through rate-programmed, activation-modulated, or feedback-regulated mechanisms are good examples of the potential of the molecularly imprinted polymers in therapeutics. The versatile formats and compositions of the imprinted networks make them also suitable for the removal of toxic substances from the body, the detection and analysis of biological molecules and pathogen agents, and the diagnosis of illnesses. Polymers imprinted for enzymes and microorganisms have already found a niche in biotechnology. New applications in the biomedical field can be forecast as molecularly imprinted polymers able to perform their functions in the biological environment are being developed and optimized.

Dr. Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo
Dr. Angel Concheiro
Guest Editors

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Functional Biomaterials is an international peer-reviewed Open Access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 300 CHF (Swiss Francs). English correction and/or formatting fees of 250 CHF (Swiss Francs) will be charged in certain cases for those articles accepted for publication that require extensive additional formatting and/or English corrections.

Keywords

molecular imprinting
drug delivery
affinity-based controlled release
stimuli-responsive imprinted networks
sensors for medical applications
MIPs for biotechnology
imprinted traps
tailored receptors
protein-imprinted networks
microbe-imprinted networks

Published Papers (5 papers)

Miguel A. Lago, Valerij Ya. Grinberg, Tatiana V. Burova, Angel Concheiro and Carmen Alvarez-Lorenzo

Article: Ionic and Polyampholyte N-Isopropylacrylamide-Based Hydrogels Prepared in the Presence of Imprinting Ligands: Stimuli-Responsiveness and Adsorption/Release Properties

J. Funct. Biomater. 2011, 2(4), 373-390; doi:10.3390/jfb2040373

Received: 8 November 2011; in revised form: 8 December 2011 / Accepted: 9 December 2011 / Published: 15 December 2011

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Abhilasha Verma and George M. Murray

Review: A Path to Soluble Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(1), 1-22; doi:10.3390/jfb3010001

Received: 5 October 2011; in revised form: 14 December 2011 / Accepted: 15 December 2011 / Published: 23 December 2011

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Abstract: Molecular imprinting is a technique for making a selective binding site for a specific chemical. The technique involves building a polymeric scaffold of molecular complements containing the target molecule. Subsequent removal of the target leaves a cavity with a structural “memory” of the target. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) can be employed as selective adsorbents of specific molecules or molecular functional groups. In addition, sensors for specific molecules can be made using optical transduction through lumiphores residing in the imprinted site. We have found that the use of metal ions as chromophores can improve selectivity due to selective complex formation. The combination of molecular imprinting and spectroscopic selectivity can result in sensors that are highly sensitive and nearly immune to interferences. A weakness of conventional MIPs with regard to processing is the insolubility of crosslinked polymers. Traditional MIPs are prepared either as monoliths and ground into powders or are prepared in situ on a support. This limits the applicability of MIPs by imposing tedious or difficult processes for their inclusion in devices. The size of the particles hinders diffusion and slows response. These weaknesses could be avoided if a means were found to prepare individual macromolecules with crosslinked binding sites with soluble linear polymeric arms. This process has been made possible by controlled free radical polymerization techniques that can form pseudo-living polymers. Modern techniques of controlled free radical polymerization allow the preparation of block copolymers with potentially crosslinkable substituents in specific locations. The inclusion of crosslinkable mers proximate to the binding complex in the core of a star polymer allows the formation of molecularly imprinted macromolecules that are soluble and processable. Due to the much shorter distance for diffusion, the polymers exhibit rapid responses. This paper reviews the methods that have been employed for the trace determination of organophosphates in real world samples using MIPs.

Béatrice Roy, Sung Vo Duy, Jean-Yves Puy, Charlotte Martin, Jérome Guitton, Charles Dumontet, Christian Périgaud and Isabelle Lefebvre-Tournier

Article: Synthesis and Evaluation of a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for Selective Solid-Phase Extraction of Irinotecan from Human Serum Samples

J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(1), 131-142; doi:10.3390/jfb3010131

Received: 12 January 2012; in revised form: 11 February 2012 / Accepted: 11 February 2012 / Published: 20 February 2012

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Wolfdietrich Meyer, Sascha Engelhardt, Esther Novosel, Burkhard Elling, Michael Wegener and Hartmut Krüger

Article: Soft Polymers for Building up Small and Smallest Blood Supplying Systems by Stereolithography

J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(2), 257-268; doi:10.3390/jfb3020257

Received: 16 February 2012; in revised form: 16 March 2012 / Accepted: 20 March 2012 / Published: 29 March 2012

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Manuela Curcio, Giuseppe Cirillo, Ortensia Ilaria Parisi, Francesca Iemma, Nevio Picci and Francesco Puoci

Article: Quercetin-Imprinted Nanospheres as Novel Drug Delivery Devices

J. Funct. Biomater. 2012, 3(2), 269-282; doi:10.3390/jfb3020269

Received: 29 February 2012; in revised form: 21 March 2012 / Accepted: 22 March 2012 / Published: 29 March 2012

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Last update: 4 October 2012

J. Funct. Biomater. EISSN 2079-4983 Published by MDPI AG, Basel, Switzerland RSS E-Mail Table of Contents Alert