Chiral recognition by molecularly imprinted polymers in aqueous media

Summary Molecularly imprinted polymers were prepared using 2-vinylpyridine and/or methacrylic acid as functional monomers in a self-assembly imprinting protocol. The resulting polymers were analyzed in aqueous media, and the effects from the pH of the mobile phase and the degree of added organic solvent were investigated. The results are indicative of the importance of ionic bonds in conjunction with hydrophobic interactions in the formation of the complexes between the analyte and the polymers.     

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers with thiourea group for phosphate

Molecularly imprinted polymers selective for phosphate were prepared with the two types of functional monomers, 1-allyl-2-thiourea and N-methyl-N′-(4-vinylphenyl)-thiourea, and the binding abilities of the polymers were evaluated. Phenylphosphonic acid or diphenyl phosphate were used as the template molecules and the imprinted polymers prepared with 1-allyl-2-thiourea as functional monomer showed high binding ability to phosphate in aqueous media and nearly 90% of phosphate could be recovered. Also, the imprinted polymer prepared with N-methyl-N′-(4-vinylphenyl)-thiourea as functional monomer had a high binding ability and specific interaction with phosphate in acetonitrile solution and over 90% of phosphate-derivatives could be recovered selectively.     

Predicting the performance of molecularly imprinted polymers: Selective extraction of caffeine by molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction

A rational design approach was taken to the planning and synthesis of a molecularly imprinted polymer capable of extracting caffeine (the template molecule) from a standard solution of caffeine and further from a food sample containing caffeine. Data from NMR titration experiments in conjunction with a molecular modelling approach was used in predicting the relative ratios of template to functional monomer and furthermore determined both the choice of solvent (porogen) and the amount used for the study. In addition the molecular modelling program yielded information regarding the thermodynamic stability of the pre-polymerisation complex. Post-polymerisation analysis of the polymer itself by analysis of the pore size distribution by BET yielded significant information regarding the nature of the size and distribution of the pores within the polymer matrix. Here is proposed a stepwise procedure for the development and testing of a molecularly imprinted polymer using a well-studied compound—caffeine as a model system. It is shown that both the physical characteristics of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) and the analysis of the pre-polymerisation complex can yield vital information, which can predict how well a given MIP will perform.     

Selective extraction of antioxidants with molecularly imprinted polymers

Molecular imprinting technology can be used to generate specific artificial polymeric receptors, i.e., high affinity stationary phases, as already shown for peptides and many other food ingredients. In this work, polymers have been molecularly imprinted with three exemplary antioxidants, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and propyl gallate (PG). Results of chromatographic evaluations are presented, demonstrating the specificity of the imprinted polymers (MIP) compared to non-specific control polymers (CP). For a BHA imprinted polymer and the respective analyte BHA a separation factor of α=k_BHA-MIP′/k_CP′=1.12 was found, whereas for the BHT-MIP a higher selectivity was determined with α=k_BHT-MIP′/k_CP′=1.47. Using the PG selective MIP for PG as analyte a value of α=k_PG-MIP′/k_CP′=1.24 could be achieved. Furthermore, results of extraction procedures based on MIP and CP phases are presented, demonstrating for instance a higher selectivity of the BHA-MIP in comparison with its CP when using methanol or acetonitrile as analyte solvent, and of the PG-MIP when performing the extraction in acetonitrile.     

Recognition of molecularly imprinted polymers for a quaternary alkaloid of berberine

Selective and affinitive imprinted polymers incorporating a quaternary alkaloid of berberine (BER) were prepared using a non-covalent imprinting method. The results showed that, compared to other imprinted polymers, the polymer AD-10 had not only a higher of the ratio of Q_MIP/Q_BP for BER adsorption, and but also a larger of the ratio of Q_MIP,B/Q_MIP,P for BER and palmatine (PAL) adsorptions. Spectrophotometric analysis demonstrated that a 1:1 cooperative hydrogen-bonding complex might be predominating in the pre-polymerization between the BER template and AA monomer. Adsorption experiments of BER on the polymer AD-10 were in accordance with the second-order and Langmuir adsorption models. The E value (5.70 kJ/mol) calculated from the Dubinin-Radushkevich model indicated that the adsorption followed a physisorption process. In addition, a Scatchard plot showed a single straight line with an equilibrium dissociation constant (K_D) of 65.80 μmol/L. SPE analyses of a mixture of BER and PAL and the methanol extract from the cortices of Phellodendron wilsonii showed that AD-10 had more efficiency, and higher specificity and selectivity for SPE in the concentration and determination of BER and its extraction from natural products.     

Enhanced selectivity of hydrogel-based molecularly imprinted polymers (HydroMIPs) following buffer conditioning

We have investigated the effect of buffer solution composition and pH during the preparation, washing and re-loading phases within a family of acrylamide-based molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for bovine haemoglobin (BHb), equine myoglobin (EMb) and bovine catalyse (BCat). We investigated water, phosphate buffer saline (PBS), tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) buffer and succinate buffer. Throughout the study MIP selectivity was highest for acrylamide, followed by N-hydroxymethylacrylamide, and then N-iso-propylacrylamide MIPs. The selectivity of the MIPs when compared with the NIPs decreased depending on the buffer conditions and pH in the order of Tris > PBS > succinate. The Tris buffer provided optimum imprinting conditions at 50 mM and pH 7.4, and MIP selectivities for the imprinting of BHb in polyacrylamide increased from an initial 8:1 to a 128:1 ratio. It was noted that the buffer conditions for the re-loading stage was important for determining MIP selectivity and the buffer conditions for the preparation stage was found to be less critical. We demonstrated that once MIPs are conditioned using Tris or PBS buffers (pH7.4) protein reloading in water should be avoided as negative effects on the MIP's imprinting capability results in low selectivities of 0.8:1. Furthermore, acidifying the pH of the buffer solution below pH 5.9 also has a negative impact on MIP selectivity especially for proteins with high isoelectric points. These buffer conditioning effects have also been successfully demonstrated in terms of MIP efficiency in real biological samples, namely plasma and serum.     

Chiral recognition of octadentate Na complex with tetra-armed cyclen by molecularly imprinted polymers

Chiral indanyl substituted tetra-armed cyclens (TAC) formed octadentate complexes with Na⁺. Since their four side arms stand up and are bundled to form quadruplicated helical structures, they can have Δ- or Λ-types enantiomers based on complex helicity. In this study, TAC-imprinted polymers were prepared using an ion-pair complex of the sodium salt of (S)-indanyl substituted TAC (TAC(S)) and 2-sulfoethyl methacrylate as a template, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross-linker. Affinity of the obtained polymers for the TAC Na⁺ complexes was evaluated chromatographically and the imprinted polymer gave longer retention time for the template than that for its antipode where the separation factor was given to be 1.29-1.45 under the NaOH concentrations of 10-25 mM in the eluent. These results indicate that the imprinted polymer could discriminate helix structures of TAC Na⁺ complexes.     

Selectivity features of molecularly imprinted polymers recognising the carbamate group

The molecular recognition properties of molecular imprinted polymers which bind the carbamate function were studied. Functional monomers potentially able to form non-covalent interactions with the model molecule N,O-dibenzylcarbamate were selected on the basis of a computational approach describing possible interactions between the template and a small library of vinylic monomers. These results were in accordance with N,O-dibenzylcarbamate batch-rebinding measurements performed on several miniMIPs prepared with the same library. From these preliminary results, four polymers were prepared by thermoinduced radical polymerization, using ethylene dimethacrylate as a cross-linker, chloroform (MIP1, MIP3) or acetonitrile (MIP2, MIP4) as porogens and methacrylic acid (MIP1, MIP2) or acrylamide (MIP3, MIP4) as functional monomers. Molecular recognition features of these materials were studied by high-performance liquid chromatography. In this manner selectivity was evaluated by considering the column retention of a library of sixteen structural analogues of dibenzylcarbamate, characterized by the transformation of the carbamate into a related function, or by the alteration of the molecular structure.The experimental results show that methacrylic acid is more efficient than acrylamide as a functional monomer (imprinting factors: MIP1 = 24.1, MIP2 = 25.6, MIP3 = 13.3, MIP4 = 2.44), and that chloroform enhances polymer selectivity. As regards structural motifs which conditionate the selectivity, the carbamate function strictly controls the presence/absence of molecular recognition, while shape and dimension of the substituents modulate the recognition itself. In particular, a marked recognition for analogs which were slightly bigger than the template was observed (N-benzyl-O-phenethylcarbamate: MIP1 α = 1.13, MIP2 α = 1.41, MIP3 α = 0.97; N-phenethyl-N-benzylcarbamate: MIP1 α = 1.61, MIP2 α = 1.17, MIP3 α = 0.81; N,O-diphenethylcarbamate: MIP1 α = 0.89, MIP2 α = 1.20, MIP3 α = 0.55).     

Comparison of binding behavior for molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by hierarchical imprinting or Pickering emulsion polymerization

The aim of this study was the evaluation of the binding performances and selectivity of molecularly imprinted beads prepared toward several penicillins (i) by hierarchical bulk polymerization in the pores of template‐grafted silica microbeads (hMIPs) and (ii) by Pickering emulsion polymerization in the presence of template‐decorated silica nanobeads (pMIPs). 6‐Aminopenicillanic acid was chosen as the common fragmental mimic template. Both approaches produced micron‐sized polymeric beads with good recognition properties toward the target ligands whereas the selectivity pattern appeared quite different. The polymer prepared by the Pickering emulsion approach showed binding properties similar to imprinted beads prepared by hierarchical approach. Equilibrium binding constants changed their values from 0.1–0.2 × 10⁶ (hMIPs) to 0.2–0.6 × 10⁶ M^?1 (pMIPs), while the binding site densities changed from 3.7–4.8 (hMIPs) to 0.3–0.55 μmol/g (pMIPs). Compared to the hierarchical polymerization, Pickering emulsion polymerization represents a more practical approach when a template mimic needs to be used.     

Halogenated molecularly imprinted polymers for selective determination of carbaryl by phosphorescence measurements

A highly selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the recognition of the pesticide carbaryl in water has been synthesized using halogenated bisphenol A compounds as one of the polymeric precursors and carbaryl as the template molecule. On the basis of the heavy-atom effect, both the brominated and the iodinated MIPs allowed analyte detection by room-temperature-phosphorescence measurements. In the presence of an oxygen scavenger (sodium sulphite) the halide, included in the polymeric structure, induced efficient room-temperature phosphorescence of the analyte (once it had been selectively retained by the MIP). The MIP cavity can be easily regenerated for subsequent sample injections with 2 mL methanol. The optosensing system developed has demonstrated high selectivity for carbaryl, even in the presence of other luminophores that could be unspecifically adsorbed onto the MIP surface. Under optimal experimental conditions, the detection limit for the target molecule was 4 μg/L (3-mL sample injection volume), and the linear range extended up to 1 mg/L of the analyte. Good reproducibility was achieved (a relative standard deviation of 3% was obtained for ten replicates of 150 μg/L carbaryl). The synthesized sensing material showed good stability for at least 3 months after preparation. Finally, the applicability to carbaryl determination in real samples was evaluated through the successful determination of the pesticide in spiked mineral and tap water samples. Figure Schematic diagram of carbaryl recognition process by an halogenated molecularly imprinted polymer for room temperature phosphorescence detection of the analyte.     

Synthesis and chromatographic evaluation of molecularly imprinted polymers prepared by the substructure approach for the class-selective recognition of glucuronides

Two series of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the class-selective recognition of glucuronides have been prepared by using lipophilic substructures of the target analyte as template molecule and potent host monomers against oxyanions, that are expected to establish a strong stoichiometric interaction with the single carboxylic group of the template. The polymers were tested as stationary phases in liquid chromatography for specific recognition. A preliminary investigation of the imprinting properties of eleven MIPs was carried out, by comparing the retention time of the template and of structurally related compounds on the MIP column with that on the corresponding non-imprinted polymer (NIP). The two polymers showing the best performance were selected to further test cotinine, mycophenolic acid, testosterone and their respective glucuronides as model compounds. The high specificity obtained against glucuronides and the different chemical structure of the parent drug make the two MIPs class-selective imprinted receptors, also suitable for SPE application.     

Influence of intramolecular hydrogen bond of templates on molecular recognition of molecularly imprinted polymers

Three molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared corresponding to three structurally related template compounds 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA), gentisic acid (GA) and salicylic acid (SA) that differ in intramolecular hydrogen bonding ability using acrylamide (AA) as a functional monomer. HPLC method was used to evaluate the binding performances of the MIPs to the templates and several analogues. The results showed that the difference in their molecular recognition ability was pronounced. The highest molecular recognition ability was observed for 4-HBA-imprinted polymer. It was proved that the hydrogen bond interaction between the functional monomer and the template (4-HBA) played a major role in the recognition process and Scatchard analysis showed that two classes of binding sites were formed in 4-HBA-imprinted polymer. Their dissociation constants were estimated to be 1.76×10⁻⁴ and 1.40×10⁻³ mol l⁻¹, respectively. But for GA- or SA-imprinted polymer the molecular recognition ability was not improved compared to the blank polymer (BP). By comparison of the structures of the three templates, it was concluded that the molecular recognition ability will decrease when the template itself is able to form intramolecular hydrogen bond in the molecular imprinting process. This study will be helpful for us to understand the molecular recognition mechanism of MIPs and of instructive significance for the prediction of the selectivity of MIPs.     

Surface ligands in the imprinting and binding of molecularly imprinted cross-linked micelles

Molecular recognition in water is challenging but water-soluble molecularly imprinted nanoparticle (MINP) receptors were produced readily by double cross-linking of surfactant micelles in the presence of suitable template molecules. When the micellar surface was decorated with different polyhydroxylated ligands, significant interactions could be introduced between the surface ligands and the template. Flexible surface ligands worked better than rigid ones to interact with the polar moiety of the template, especially for those template molecules whose water-exposed surface is not properly solvated by water. The importance of these hydrophilic interactions was examined in the context of different substrates, density of the surface ligands, and surface-cross-linking density of the MINP. Together with the hydrophobic interactions in the core, the surface hydrophilic interactions can be used to enhance the binding of guest molecules in water.     

Tetracycline selective electrode based on molecularly imprinted polymer particles

<正>Tetracycline selective electrode using molecularly imprinted polymer particles as quasi-ionophore was constructed the first time, and its performance was carefully characterized.Due to the specific recognition of tetracycline by the particles,the selectivity coefficients for routine interferences were less than 10~(-4).Benefited from the absence of tetracycline in the sensitive membrane and the optimized composition of the inner filling solution,the limit of detection of the electrode was reduced to about 2.5×10~(-8) mol/ L.It exhibited a good electrode slope 57.6 mV/decade near the theoretical Nernstian one,with a wide linear working range from 6.0×10~(-8) to 1.0×10~(-3) mol/L.The fabricated electrode should be used in pH 2-4,response time of which was less than 200 s when the concentration of tetracycline was higher than 1.0×10~(-6) mol/L and no more than 30 min at the concentration of 1.0×10~(-8) mol/L.     

分子印迹聚合物拆分消旋体酮洛芬

以(S) 酮洛芬为印迹分子利用分子印迹技术合成能识别(S) 酮洛芬的聚合物。聚合物作为高效液相色谱的固定相,消旋体酮洛芬在固定相能分开,同时聚合物还能将酮洛芬和布洛芬的混合物分开。     

Acid- and anion-targeted fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers: Recent advances,challenges and perspectives

Acids and anions are important natural components that distribute in plants, animals and products from biotechnological processes. They are usually non-toxic, however, with an increase or decrease in their concentration due to pollution, overuse, chemical reaction etc., acids and anions show harmful effects. Therefore, the detection of acids and anions with high sensitivity and selectivity is necessary. Molecularly imprinting, a technique creating template-tailored cavities in polymer matrices through covalent or non-covalent bonds, has been adapted for the detection of acids, anions and their derivatives. Particularly, fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (fMIPs) appear as one of the most promising candidates for chemical sensing due to the high sensitivity and ease of operation of fluorescence. This review summarizes the types of fMIPs, gives an overview of acid and anion templates and features of fMIPs, highlights studies of interest with an emphasis on fluorescent monomers (FMs) used in the synthesis, and finally discusses the challenges and future perspectives.     

盐酸雷尼替丁印迹聚合物膜电极的制备与应用

研究了盐酸雷尼替丁印迹聚合物离子选择性电极的制备、特性及应用。该电极在1.0×10-5～1.0×10-2mol/L范围内表现能斯特响应,斜率为-28.18mV/pC,检测下限为5.2×10-6mol/L,原料回收率为96.8%～104.6%。该电极与先前报道的电极相比,具有更高的选择性、灵敏性和抗干扰性。利用该电极对雷尼替丁原料、胶囊含量进行了测定,结果与药典法一致。     

Investigation of protein imprinting in hydrogel-based molecularly imprinted polymers (HydroMIPs)

We have developed a strategy to produce molecularly imprinted polymers based on polyacrylamide hydrogels for the selective imprinting of bovine haemoglobin (BHb). For the first time, we have explored in detail a variety of template removal strategies including varying ratios of sodium dodecylsulphate:acetic acid (SDS:AcOH) and also the use of a trypsin digest. The optimum ratio of SDS:AcOH was found to be a 10% (w/v):10% (v/v) for the most effective template removal. This resulted in >90% (imprinting efficiency) of re-loaded template (protein) molecule being selectively bound within the MIP. At 15%:15% of SDS:AcOH, although there was even more initial template removal, subsequent re-binding studies showed a decrease in imprinting efficiency (67.9%). Trypsin solutions were also used as a method of template removal. Up to 87.4% of template was reproducibly removed initially; however, the imprinting efficiency was only 20.4%. The high selectivity of the BHb HydroMIP to BHb compared with other structural analogues (namely cytochrome C and myoglobin) was successfully demonstrated.     

三聚氰胺磁性分子印迹聚合物材料的制备及性能表征

利用溶剂热法通过控制反应时间和温度制得了分散性好和磁性强的Fe3O4,并利用溶胶凝胶法制备得到包覆SiO2的磁性微球(Fe3O4@SiO2)。以三聚氰胺为模板分子,甲基丙烯酸(MAA)为单体,采用本体聚合法制备了磁性分子印迹聚合物(MMIPs)。通过静态吸附实验表明,MMIPs对三聚氰胺的饱和吸附量高达10.22μg/mg,是磁性非印迹聚合物(MNIPs)的1.62倍。粒子扩散模型、Elovich模型和动态吸附实验表明所制得的MMIPs有较好的吸附性能。