Molecularly Imprinted Polymers—Molecular Recognition

A special issue of C (ISSN 2311-5629).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2017) | Viewed by 10912

Special Issue Editor

Chemical Sensors and Optical Molecular Spectroscopy, Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria
Interests: physicochemical basis of sensors; chemical sensors; physical sensors; metrology; supramolecular chemistry; molecular recognition; molecular imprinting; anisotropic phases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The most prominent strategy in modern chemistry focuses on molecular recognition for molecules and ions but also supramolecular complex systems. Thus, biomimetic methods are designed which imitate nature. The bottle neck of synthetic routes—costs for man power and expensive chemicals—is bypassed by molecular imprinting which leads to molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). This synthetic strategy is based on carbon chemistry using template synthesis combined with polymer chemistry. The molecule of interest is wrapped by monomers or oligopolymers followed by polymerisation. Stereochemically stable structures are generated by using multifunctional monomers as cross linkers to form rigid polymers. The template can be removed by evaporation or dissolution. A host is synthesized in this way, then the guest can be reversibly included.

Analytical applications for MIPs are obvious; commercially, progress is made especially for solid phase extraction to guarantee a selective enrichment by sample preparation. Further straightforward developments are the design of separation materials for HPLC via MIPs. More chances arise for MIP design as coatings for sensors. Thus, lean molecules; polymer particles up to viruses and bacteria; and other cells can be adhered to MIPs. In this way, synthetic antibodies can be realized. Even catalytic MIPs which imitate antibodies and enzymes are of increasing interest. The binding of molecules and particles to MIPs makes it possible to design selective delivery systems, especially for drugs.

Prof. Dr. Franz L. Dickert
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short 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 thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. C 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 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • MIPs
  • molecular recognition
  • solid-phase extraction (SPE)
  • HPLC
  • sensors
  • molecules
  • complex mixtures
  • bioanalytes

Published Papers (2 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

13 pages, 11400 KiB  
Article
Pathogen-Imprinted Organosiloxane Polymers as Selective Biosensors for the Detection of Targeted E. coli
by Maria T. Dulay, Naina Zaman, David Jaramillo, Alison C. Mody and Richard N. Zare
C 2018, 4(2), 29; https://doi.org/10.3390/c4020029 - 14 May 2018
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 6308
Abstract
Early detection of pathogens requires methods that are fast, selective, sensitive and affordable. We report the development of a biosensor with high sensitivity and selectivity based on the low-cost preparation of organosiloxane (OSX) polymers imprinted with E. coli-GFP (green fluorescent protein). OSX [...] Read more.
Early detection of pathogens requires methods that are fast, selective, sensitive and affordable. We report the development of a biosensor with high sensitivity and selectivity based on the low-cost preparation of organosiloxane (OSX) polymers imprinted with E. coli-GFP (green fluorescent protein). OSX polymers with high optical transparency, no cracking, and no shrinkage were prepared by varying several parameters of the sol–gel reaction. The unique shape and chemical fingerprint of the targeted inactivated E. coli-GFP were imprinted into bulk polymers by replication imprinting where the polymer solution was dropcast onto a bacteria template that produced a replica of the bacterial shape and chemistry on the polymer surface upon removal of the template. Capture performances were studied under non-laminar flow conditions with samples containing inactivated E. coli-GFP and compared to inactivated S. typhimurium-GFP. Capture selectivity ratios are dependent on the type of alkoxysilanes used, the H2O:silane molar ratio, and the polymerization temperature. The bacteria concentration in suspension ranged from ~6 × 105 to 1.6 × 109 cells/mL. E. coli-imprinted OSX polymers with polyethylene glycol (PEG) differentiated between the targeted bacterium E. coli, and non-targeted bacteria S. typhimurium and native E. coli-GFP, achieving selectivity ratios up to 4.5 times higher than polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and OSX polymers without PEG. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymers—Molecular Recognition)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 3504 KiB  
Article
Phytosterol Recognition via Rationally Designed Molecularly Imprinted Polymers
by Lachlan J. Schwarz, Brenda K. Y. Leung, Basil Danylec, Simon J. Harris, Reinhard I. Boysen and Milton T. W. Hearn
C 2018, 4(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/c4010013 - 12 Feb 2018
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4043
Abstract
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) prepared via a semi-covalent imprinting strategy using stigmasteryl methacrylate as a polymerisable template have been evaluated by static binding methods for their ability to selectively capture other valuable phytosterol targets, including campesterol and brassicasterol. Design criteria based on molecular [...] Read more.
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) prepared via a semi-covalent imprinting strategy using stigmasteryl methacrylate as a polymerisable template have been evaluated by static binding methods for their ability to selectively capture other valuable phytosterol targets, including campesterol and brassicasterol. Design criteria based on molecular modelling procedures and interaction energy calculations were employed to aid the selection of the co-monomer type, as well as the choice of co-monomer:template ratios for the formation of the pre-polymerisation complex. These novel hybrid semi-covalently imprinted polymers employed N,N′-dimethylacryl-amide (N,N′-DMAAM) as the functional co-monomer and displayed specific binding capacities in the range 5.2–5.9 mg sterol/g MIP resin. Their binding attributes and selectivities towards phytosterol compounds were significantly different to the corresponding MIPs prepared via non-covalent procedures or when compared to non-imprinted polymers. Cross-reactivity studies using stigmasterol, ergosterol, cholesterol, campesterol, and brassicasterol as single analytes revealed the importance of the A-ring C-3-β-hydroxyl group and the orientational preferences of the D-ring alkyl chain structures in their interaction in the templated cavity with the N,N′-dimethylamide functional groups of the MIP. Finally, to obtain useful quantities of both campersterol and brassicasterol for these investigations, improved synthetic routes have been developed to permit the conversion of the more abundant, lower cost stigmasterol via a reactive aldehyde intermediate to these other sterols. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymers—Molecular Recognition)
Show Figures

Graphical abstract

Back to TopTop