New configurations and applications of molecularly imprinted polymers

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are applicable in a variety of different configurations. For example, bulk polymers imprinted with beta-lactam antibiotics are presented to be used as stationary phases for the chromatographic separation of beta-lactam antibiotics with both aqueous and organic mobile phases. However, in some analytical applications, monosized spherical beads are preferred over the currently used ground bulk polymers. A precipitation polymerization technique allows preparation of monosized spherical imprinted beads with diameters down to 200 nm having excellent recognition properties for different target molecules. Nevertheless, with current imprinting protocols a substantial amount of template has to be used to prepare the polymer. This can be problematic if the template is poorly soluble, expensive or difficult to obtain. It is shown that for analytical applications, the functional monomer:template ratio can be drastically increased without jeopardizing the polymer's recognition properties. Furthermore, a substantial reduction of the degree of crosslinking is demonstrated, resulting in much more flexible polymers that are useful for example the preparation of thin imprinted films and membranes for sensors. Apart from analysis, MIPs also are applicable in chemical or enzymatic synthesis. For example, MIPs using the product of an enzyme reaction as template are utilized for assisting the synthetic reaction by continuously removing the product from the bulk solution by complexation. This results in an equilibrium shift towards product formation.     

Rational design of molecularly imprinted polymer: the choice of cross-linker

The paper describes a rational approach for the selection of cross-linkers during the development of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). As a model system for this research MIPs specific for the drug zidovudine (AZT) were designed and tested. Three cross-linkers trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM), ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) were studied. The analogue of zidovudine (AZT) ester (AZT-ES) was used as a dummy template. The imprinting factors for all of the polymers in the static adsorption experiments were calculated. The data on the AZT adsorption by control polymers (CP), which were prepared with different cross-linkers without a functional monomer, was also analyzed. DVB was found to be more inert towards zidovudine than EGDMA and TRIM, which was confirmed by both molecular modelling and adsorption experiments. It was demonstrated that DVB-based polymers had a higher imprinting factor (I = 1.85) compared with other tested cross-linked polymers. It was suggested that the selection of the cross-linker should be based on the strength of the interaction with the template: the cross-linker which displays lower binding of the template should be preferential because it generates MIPs with lower non-specific binding and a higher imprinting factor, and therefore specificity. Which cross-linker to use for the preparation of any particular MIP can be determined by analysis of the interactions between the cross-linker and template. This could be done either virtually using computational modelling or by template adsorption using a small library of polymers prepared using different cross-linkers.     

多壁碳纳米管表面邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯印迹聚合物的制备及其在固相萃取中的应用

以苯基修饰的多壁碳纳米管为载体,邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯为模板分子,甲基丙烯酸为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯为交联剂,在碳纳米管表面接枝一层塑化剂邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯印迹聚合层.采用红外光谱和扫描电镜对聚合物进行表征和分析.结果表明,在碳纳米管表面成功接枝一层20～30 nm厚的印迹聚合层.采用高效液相色谱研究该印迹聚合物的吸附性能,结果表明,碳纳米管分子印迹聚合物对邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯最大吸附量为69.1 μmol/g,达到吸附平衡时间约为60 min.选择性吸附实验表明,与其它结构类似物相比,该印迹复合材料对邻苯二甲酸二(2-乙基)己酯有良好的识别能力.作为固相萃取材料装填于固相萃取柱中,该印迹聚合物能对芒果汁样品中塑化剂进行有效的分离和富集.     

Investigation of imprinting parameters and their recognition nature for quinine-molecularly imprinted polymers

A series of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was prepared using quinine as the template molecules by bulk polymerization. The presence of monomer-template solution complexes in non-covalent MIPs systems has been verified by both fluorescence and UV-vis spectrometric detection. The influence of different synthetic conditions (porogen, functional monomer, cross-linkers, initiation methods, monomer-template ratio, etc.) on recognition properties of the polymers was investigated. Scatchard analysis revealed that two classes of binding sites were formed in the imprinted polymer. The corresponding dissociation constants were estimated to be 45.00 micromol l(-1) and 1.42 mmol l(-1), respectively, by utilizing a multi-site recognition model. The binding characteristics of the imprinted polymers were explored in various solvents using equilibrium binding experiments. In the organic media, results suggested that polar interactions (hydrogen bonding, ionic interactions, etc.) between acidic monomer/polymer and template molecules were mainly responsible for the recognition, whereas in aqueous media, hydrophobic interactions had a remarkable non-specific contribution to the overall binding. The specificity of MIP was evaluated by rebinding the other structurally similar compounds. The results indicated that the imprinted polymers exhibited an excellent stereo-selectivity toward quinine.     

Chiral resolution of derivatized amino acids using uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymers in hydro-organic mobile phases

Uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for Boc-l-Trp were prepared using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) as the cross-linker, and methacylic acid (MAA) and/or 4-vinylpyridine (4-VPY) as the functional monomers or without use of a functional monomer. The MIPs prepared were evaluated using acetonitrile or a mixture of phosphate buffer and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. The Boc-l-Trp-imprinted EDMA polymers can recognize Boc-l-Trp by its molecular shape, and can thus afford the enantioseparation of Boc-Trp. Besides the molecular shape recognition, the hydrophobic interactions with the polymer backbones as well as the hydrogen-bonding interactions of Boc-l-Trp with carboxyl and pyridyl groups in the polymers should work for the retention and recognition of Boc-l-Trp on the imprinted MAA-co-EDMA and 4-VPY-co-EDMA polymers, respectively, in the hydro-organic mobile phase. The hydrogen-bonding interactions seem to become dominant when only acetonitrile is used as the mobile phase. The Boc-l-Trp-imprinted 4-VPY-co-EDMA polymers gave the highest retentivity and enantioselectivity for Boc-Trp among the MIPs prepared. However, the simultaneous use of MAA and 4-VPY was not effective for the enantioseparation of Boc-Trp in a hydro-organic mobile phase. Furthermore, the baseline separation of Boc-Trp enantiomers was attained within 10 min on the Boc-l-Trp-imprinted 4-VPY-co-EDMA polymers under the optimized HPLC conditions.     

Synthesis and Molecular Recognition of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer with Ibuprofen as Template

Ibuprofen and ketoprofen are chemically similar non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs widely used in the treatment of arthritis. Using a molecular imprinting technique, a simple and rapid method was developed for the simultaneous separation and determination of ibuprofen and ketoprofen. Molecular imprinting introduces artificial binding sites into a synthetic polymer matrix, allowing it to exhibit selective rebinding of template molecules. Imprinted polymers can be regarded as an HPLC stationary phase, important for pharmaceutical analysis. Most molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthesized by free radical polymerization of functional monomers, resulting in an excess of crosslinking monomers. In this study, MIPs have been prepared with a ibuprofen template, which can form intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were used as the functional monomer and cross‐linker, respectively. Bulk polymerization was carried out at 4 °C under UV radiation. The resulting MIP was ground into 25?44 μm particles, which were slurry‐packed into analytical columns. Template molecules were removed by methanol‐acetic acid (9:1, v/v). We evaluated the template binding performance of the MIP using HPLC, with ultraviolet (UV) detection at 234 nm. Chromatographic resolution of ibuprofen and ketoprofen on the MIPs were appraised using buffer/acetonitrile (45/55, v/v) as the mobile phase. Results show that the MIPs prepared using ibuprofen as the template had a significant molecular imprinting effect. The method was successfully applied to the separation and analysis of ibuprofen and ketoprofen in pharmaceuticals.     

Evaluation of molecularly imprinted polymers using 2′,3′,5′-tri-O-acyluridines as templates for pyrimidine nucleoside recognition

In this paper, we describe the synthesis and evaluation of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), prepared using 2′,3′,5′-tri-O-acyluridines as ‘dummy’ templates, for the selective recognition of uridine nucleosides. The MIPs were synthesised using a non-covalent approach with 2,6-bis-acrylamidopyridine (BAAPy) acting as the binding monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as the cross-linking agent. The MIPs were evaluated in terms of capacity, selectivity and specificity by analytical and frontal liquid chromatography measurements. The results obtained in organic mobile phases suggest that the nucleosides are specifically bound to the polymer by the complementary hydrogen bonding motifs of the binding monomer and the nucleoside bases. The MIPs exhibited relatively high imprinting factors for 2′,3′,5′-tri-O-acyluridines, while they did not show any binding capacity for other nucleosides lacking the imide moiety on their base. Moreover, the presence of ester-COO groups in the EGDMA cross-linker may lead to the formation of additional hydrogen bonds with the 2′,3′ and/or 5′-OH of sugar part, allowing enhancement of the recognition of the uridine nucleosides. In aqueous media, results show that the binding is driven by hydrophobic interactions.     

Comparison of particle size and flow rate optimization for chromatography using one-monomer molecularly imprinted polymers versus traditional non-covalent molecularly imprinted polymers

The dependence of enantio-selective chromatographic performance on particle size, as measured by separation factor, was investigated for one-monomer molecularly imprinted polymers (OMNiMIPs) compared to traditionally formed EGDMA/MAA molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). Five particle size ranges were compared (<20 μm, 20-25 μm, 25-38 μm, 38-45 μm, and 45-63 μm), revealing that the particle sizes above 25 μm provided the highest separation factor, and thus the best enantiomer separation, for both imprinted polymers. Other chromatographic parameters such as the number of theoretical plates and resolution exhibited only minor changes for the OMNiMIPs as the particle size changed, except for particles 20 μm and below. However, the number of theoretical plates and resolution for EGDMA/MAA are higher for particles in the 20-25 μm range. Thus, chromatographic factors for the EGDMA/MAA polymers are better in this range, despite better enantioselectivity for particle sizes above 25 μm. In contrast, OMNiMIPs generally show the most favorable performance for particle sizes in the 38-45 μm range. It was also found that decreasing flow rate resulted in improved enantioselectivity for both MIPs for all particle sizes.     

Thermal desorption characterisation of molecularly imprinted polymers. Part II: Use of direct probe GC–MS analysis to study crosslinking effects

A powerful method utilising direct probe thermal desorption GC–MS is presented for the study of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs). A series of 2-aminopyridine (2-apy)-imprinted methacrylic acid–ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (MAA–EGDMA) copolymers were prepared under identical conditions but with varying amounts of EGDMA (crosslinking monomer). The use of appropriate temperature programmes permitted template removal, and the subsequent assessment of polymer affinity and specificity, all of which were found to be dependent on polymer composition and morphology. The system was sufficiently sensitive to identify a specific response of imprinted polymers over nonimprinted counterparts. Correlations were found to exist between thermal desorption analysis and solution phase binding, which was assessed by UV spectroscopy, where specificity was found to diminish with decreasing EGDMA concentration. This was attributed to the increased number of free carboxyl groups in those polymers containing a lower percentage of EGDMA. Thermal desorption profiles obtained for the analyte were found to be unaffected by the physical and chemical properties of the solvent used for analyte reloading. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Molecularly imprinted polymers: An analytical tool for the determination of benzimidazole compounds in water samples

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for benzimidazole compounds have been synthesized by precipitation polymerization using thiabendazole (TBZ) as template, methacrylic acid as functional monomer, ethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (EDMA) and divinylbenzene (DVB) as cross-linkers and a mixture of acetonitrile and toluene as porogen. The experiments carried out by molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) in cartridges demonstrated the imprint effect in both imprinted polymers. MIP–DVB enabled a much higher breakthrough volume than MIP–EDMA, and thus was selected for further experiments. The ability of this MIP for the selective recognition of other benzimidazole compounds (albendazole, benomyl, carbendazim, fenbendazole, flubendazole and fuberidazole) was evaluated. The obtained results revealed the high selectivity of the imprinted polymer towards all the selected benzimidazole compounds.An off-line analytical methodology based on a MISPE procedure has been developed for the determination of benzimidazole compounds in tap, river and well water samples at concentration levels below the legislated maximum concentration levels (MCLs) with quantitative recoveries. Additionally, an on-line preconcentration procedure based on the use of a molecularly imprinted polymer as selective stationary phase in HPLC is proposed as a fast screening method for the evaluation of the presence of benzimidazole compounds in water samples.     

替米考星分子印迹聚合物的制备及其固相萃取研究

以泰乐菌素为虚拟模板分子,甲基丙烯酸为功能单体,乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯为交联剂,合成了对替米考星具有高选择性的分子印迹聚合物。考察了二甲基甲酰胺、甲醇、丙酮和氯仿4种致孔剂对合成聚合物性能的影响。通过正交实验优化的聚合配方为:1.0mmol泰乐菌素,8.0mmol甲基丙烯酸,20.0mmol乙二醇二甲基丙烯酸酯,6.0mL氯仿,20.0mg偶氮二异丁腈。研究了将该聚合物作为固相萃取填料分离、富集替米考星的萃取条件和萃取性能。当萃取柱依次用甲醇和水(pH9.0)活化,乙腈溶液上样,甲醇和氯仿分别洗涤,3mL氨化甲醇(95:5,V/V)洗脱时,替米考星在分子印迹固相萃取柱上的回收率达到90%以上,而非分子印迹固相萃取柱的回收率仅为32%。     

Recognition characteristics of dibenzofuran by molecularly imprinted polymers made of common polymers

Dibenzofuran (DBF) recognition was studied by a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) made of commercially available polymers: polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polysulfone, polystyrene, and polyacrylonitrile. Preparation of MIPs was carried out by phase inversion of the polymer. Respective polymer solutions were coagulated with DBF template in water (non-solvent). In addition, reference polymers without the template were prepared in same manner as unimprinted polymers. After the DBF template was extracted from the solidified polymers by washing with methanol (MeOH), recognition experiments of DBF by the imprinted polymers were carried out for DBF in MeOH solutions. Equilibrium constants for DBF were calculated from saturation binding kinetics. Equilibrium experiment results reveal that recognition was effective for DBF binding to the DBF-imprinted polymer, especially for the imprinted PVC.     

Design of molecular imprinted polymers compatible with aqueous environment

The main problem of poor water compatibility of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was addressed in examples describing design of synthetic receptors with high affinity for drugs of abuse. An extensive potentiometric titration of 10 popular functional monomers and corresponding imprinted and Blank polymers was conducted in order to evaluate the subtleties of functional groups ionisation under aqueous conditions. It was found that polymers prepared using 2-trifluoromethacrylic acid (TFMAA) in combination with toluene as porogen possess superior properties which make them suitable for effective template recognition in water. The potential impact of phase separation during polymerisation on formation of high quality imprints has been discussed. Three drugs of abuse such as cocaine, deoxyephedrine and methadone were used as template models in polymer preparation for the practical validation of obtained results. The polymer testing showed that synthesized molecularly imprinted polymers have high affinity and selectivity for corresponding templates in aqueous environment, with imprinting factors of 2.6 for cocaine and 1.4 for methadone and deoxyephedrine. Corresponding Blank polymers were unable to differentiate between analytes, suggesting that imprinting phenomenon was responsible for the recognition properties.     

Study on the mechanism of chiral recognition with molecularly imprinted polymers

This study aimed at elucidating the chiral recognition mechanism with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in aqueous environment. The system used ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA), methacrylic acid (MAA), and 4-l-phenylalanylamino-pyridine (4-l-PheNHPy) as the cross-linking monomer, functional monomer and template, respectively, to assemble the imprinted polymer. A self-assembly mechanism, which includes the pre-organizing functional monomers around template before polymerization process, was proposed. This mechanism was supported by NMR titration test. Interactions between functional monomer and template were observed using UV-Vis spectroscopy of solutions of these components as well. These studies indicated a 1:2 molecular complex dominantly formed between 4-l-PheNHPy and MAA. Association constant was estimated to be 97,000 M⁻². Based on these results, a model mainly involving two-spot interaction was proposed evolving from our reported concept of exact placement of functional group. Ionic interaction between the primary amino group of 4-l-PheNHPy and carboxylic acid group inside the microcavity on MIPs was believed to play a predominate role in the enantioselectivity as supported by the observation of the relationship between the retention factor of 4-l-PheNHPy and the pH of mobile phase. While thermodynamic study at different pH revealed that, the interaction between the pyridyl group of 4-l-PheNHPy and the carboxylic acid group on the MIPs is also strong, implying that it also plays a profound role in determining the highly chiral selectivity of MIPs.     

分子烙印聚合物对抗胆碱能类药物的选择性固相吸附行为研究

以3种结构类似的抗胆碱能药物盐酸新托品(1116)、盐酸苯环壬酯(8021)和盐酸戊乙奎醚(8018)为模板分子合成分子烙印聚合物,采用固相萃取-高效液相色谱法(SPE-HPLC)考察各MIP对乙腈溶液中结构类似的药物1116、8021、8018及盐酸卡马特灵(1113)、氯苯那敏(CPA)和樟柳碱(AT3)的固相吸附行为,探讨MIP特异性识别的影响因素及机理。结果表明,在MIP合成中,功能单体、交联剂及引发剂的种类和用量、引发方式、模板分子与功能单体的比例等因素对MIP的特异性识别能力均有重要影响。以1116、8021和8018为模板分子、甲基丙烯酸(MAA)为功能单体、三羟甲基丙烷三甲基丙烯酸酯(TRIM)为交联剂,在乙腈中合成的各MIP均表现出较强的特异性识别能力。其中,MIP对待测物的非特异性吸附主要由其网状结构表面游离的极性基团引起;MIP的特异性识别过程中,识别位点与待测物的空间结构匹配起着更为重要的作用。     

水相识别分子印迹技术

在各种基于超分子方法的仿生识别体系中,分子印迹聚合物已经证明是一种有潜力的合成受体,受到了广泛的关注。传统的分子印迹技术通常是在有机溶剂中制备对小分子具有选择性的印迹聚合物,而在水相中制备及识别生物大分子的研究仍具有相当的挑战性。从小分子到生物大分子、从有机相到水相,反映了分子印迹技术的发展趋势。本文对最近几年分子印迹在水相制备与识别方面的最新进展进行了总结与评述,探讨了水相识别印迹聚合物的设计策略与制备方法;着重介绍了水相识别技术在固相萃取、色谱固定相、药物控释、中药有效成份提取以及生物分子识别等方面的应用;指出了提高水相识别选择性的途径并对其将来的发展进行了建议与展望。     

Improving the strategy and performance of molecularly imprinted polymers using cross-linking functional monomers

A new strategy for monomer design has been investigated that combines interactive monomer functionality with a cross-linking format, giving as a result noncovalent molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with improved performance. This strategy was explored under the premise that more functionality could be introduced without suffering performance losses due to reduced cross-linking. While this proved to be correct, equally important contributions to selectivity enhancement at the molecular level by conformation control and diastereomeric complexation were also discovered. Monomers derived from l-serine and l-aspartic acid were synthesized and used to prepare MIPs, with the best performance obtained for the MIP formulated with the serine-based cross-linker (N,O-bis-methacryloyl l-serine, 3), versus the aspartic-acid-based cross-linkers and the traditional methacrylic acid/ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (MAA/EGDMA) formulation. Quantitative structure-selectivity relationship (QSSR) studies revealed that the improved performance of 3 was due to three key factors: (1) the cross-linking nature of this monomer; (2) control of conformational flexibility; (3) a strong influence of monomer chirality on enantioselectivity in MIPs.     

分子印迹聚合物的制备及孔结构研究

以N 叔丁氧羰酰 L 色氨酸和N 叔丁氧羰酰 L 酪氨酸为印迹分子 ,分别采用光引发聚合和热引发聚合制备了分子印迹聚合物 ,并对聚合物的手性识别能力进行了色谱评价 .结果表明 ,制备的分子印迹聚合物对印迹分子具有特异性的吸附作用 ,光引发聚合的N 叔丁氧羰酰 L 色氨酸的印迹聚合物对印迹分子的选择性因子达到 2 .318,热引发聚合的N 叔丁氧羰酰 L 酪氨酸对印迹分子的选择性因子为 1 373 进一步研究了分子印迹聚合物的孔结构 ,发现光引发聚合的分子印迹聚合物与空白聚合物的孔结构差别比热引发聚合的分子印迹聚合物与空白聚合物的差别更为明显 .对印迹分子洗脱前后的印迹聚合物的孔结构研究进一步表明 ,印迹分子存在于不同类型的孔中 .     

MOLECULAR IMPRINTED POLYMERS—Novel Polymer Adsorbents

Molecular imprinted polymers(MIPs) are novel functional polymer materials and known as specific adsorbents for the template molecules,These novel functional polymers have promised potential applications in racemic resolution,sensor,chromatography,adsorptive separation and other fields.This review exhibits the approach for preparing MIPs,the features of MIPs obtained by different routes and the characteristics of adsorptive separations with MIPs.The molecular recognition mechanism and the idea of the present possibilities and limitations of molecular imprinting polymerization are discussed as well.     

Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers via ring-opening metathesis polymerization for solid-phase extraction of bisphenol A

The use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) prepared by ring-opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP) for bisphenol A (BPA) was reported in this article. The resulting MIPs have high imprinting and adsorption capacities, and can be used for separation and determination of BPA in environmental water samples. The successful application of ROMP in the molecular imprinting field is described here. For the first time, two cross-linkers (dicyclopentadiene and 2,5-norbornadiene) and two Grubbs catalysts (first and second generation) were investigated to compare their effects on the binding performance of MIPs. The ROMP technique is able to create the imprinted polymers within 1 h under mild conditions. Furthermore, it can provide MIPs with obvious imprinting effects towards the template, very fast template rebinding kinetics, high binding capacity and appreciable selectivity over structurally related compounds. The adsorption process for MIPs in this study can be completed within 45 min, which is much faster than that of bulk MIPs synthesized by traditional free-radical polymerization. The resulting imprinting polymer was evaluated for its use as a sorbent support in an off-line solid-phase extraction approach to recover BPA from diluted aqueous samples. The optimized extraction protocol resulted in a reliable MISPE method suitable for selective extraction and preconcentration of BPA from tap water, human urine and liquid milk samples. This article demonstrates the practical feasibility of the MIPs prepared via ROMP as solid-phase extraction materials.