Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are materials that are designed to be receptors for a template molecule (e.g., a protein). They are made by polymerizing the polymerizable reagents in the presence of the template; when the template is removed, the material can be used for many applications that would traditionally use antibodies. Thus, MIPs are biomimetic of antibodies and in this capacity have found wide applications, such as sensing, separation and diagnosis. However, many imprinting approaches are uncontrollable, and facile imprinting approaches widely applicable to a large variety of templates remain limited. We developed an approach called boronate affinity controllable-oriented surface imprinting, which allows for easy and efficient preparation of MIPs specific to glycoproteins, glycans and monosaccharides. This approach relies on immobilization of a template (glycoprotein, glycan or monosaccharide) on a boronic-acid-functionalized substrate through boronate affinity interaction, followed by self-polymerization of biocompatible monomer(s) to form an imprinting layer on the substrate with appropriate thickness. Imprinting in this approach is performed in a controllable manner, permitting the thickness of the imprinting layer to be fine-tuned according to the molecular size of the template by adjusting the imprinting time. This not only simplifies the imprinting procedure but also makes the approach widely applicable to a large range of sugar-containing biomolecules. MIPs prepared by this approach exhibit excellent binding properties and can be applied to complex real samples. The MIPs prepared by this protocol have been used in affinity separation, disease diagnosis and bioimaging. The entire protocol, including preparation, property characterization and performance evaluation, takes ∼3-8 d, depending on the type of substrate and template used.

Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers specific to glycoproteins, glycans and monosaccharides via boronate affinity controllable-oriented surface imprinting

Different roles of ionic liquids in lithium batteries

Materials that can mimic the molecular recognition-based functions found in biology are a significant goal for science and technology. Molecular imprinting is a technology that addresses this challenge by providing polymeric materials with antibody-like recognition characteristics. Recently, significant progress has been achieved in solving many of the practical problems traditionally associated with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), such as difficulties with imprinting of proteins, poor compatibility with aqueous environments, template leakage, and the presence of heterogeneous populations of binding sites in the polymers that contribute to high levels of non-specific binding. This success is closely related to the technology-driven shift in MIP research from traditional bulk polymer formats into the nanomaterial domain. The aim of this article is to throw light on recent developments in this field and to present a critical discussion of the current state of molecular imprinting and its potential in real world applications.

Strategies for Molecular Imprinting and the Evolution of MIP Nanoparticles as Plastic Antibodies-Synthesis and Applications.

Deep eutectic solvents (DESs) represent an emergent class of green designer solvents that find numerous applications in different aspects of chemical synthesis A particularly appealing aspect of DES systems is their simplicity of preparation, combined with inexpensive, readily available starting materials to yield solvents with appealing properties (negligible volatility, non-flammability and high solvation capacity) In the context of polymer science, DES systems not only offer an appealing route towards replacing hazardous volatile organic solvents (VOCs), but can serve multiple roles including those of solvent, monomer and templating agent—so called “polymerizable eutectics” In this review, we look at DES systems and polymerizable eutectics and their application in polymer materials synthesis, including various mechanisms of polymer formation, hydrogel design, porous monoliths, and molecularly imprinted polymers We provide a comparative study of these systems alongside traditional synthetic approaches, highlighting not only the benefit of replacing VOCs from the perspective of environmental sustainability, but also the materials advantage with respect to mechanical and thermal properties of the polymers formed

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/13/3/447/pdf

Greener, Faster, Stronger: The Benefits of Deep Eutectic Solvents in Polymer and Materials Science.

Nucleic acid aptamers, as useful alternatives of antibodies, have found a large range of promising applications such as affinity separation and bioassays. The screening of aptamers is critical for their applications. Aptamers are often screened by an in vitro methodology called SELEX (systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment). Although numerous SELEX methods have been established to facilitate the selection, new efficient selection methods are still much needed. Molecularly imprinted polymers, which are antibody alternatives at the material level and competitors of aptamers, have not been used as a platform for aptamer selection yet so far. In this study, a glycan-imprinted magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs)-based SELEX was developed to efficiently screen aptamers against glycoproteins. Glycan-imprinted MNPs were used as an affinity interface to bind target glycoprotein, and then the target glycoprotein-bound MNPs were used as an affinity substrate for aptamer selection. The glycan-imprinted M...

Glycan-Imprinted Magnetic Nanoparticle-Based SELEX for Efficient Screening of Glycoprotein-Binding Aptamers.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlepdf/2019/PY/C9PY01039D

Polymer synthesis in non-ionic deep eutectic solvents

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6374/4/2/90/pdf

Hierarchical Thin Film Architectures for Enhanced Sensor Performance: Liquid Crystal-Mediated Electrochemical Synthesis of Nanostructured Imprinted Polymer Films for the Selective Recognition of Bupivacaine

A family of non-ionic deep eutectic liquids has been developed based upon mixtures of solid N-alkyl derivatives of urea and acetamide that in some cases have melting points below room temperature. The eutectic behaviour and physical characteristics of a series of eleven eutectic mixtures are presented, along with a molecular dynamics study-supported hypothesis for the origin of the non-ideal mixing of these substances. Their use as solvents in applications ranging from natural product extraction to organic and polymer synthesis are demonstrated.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/20/12/2857/pdf

Natacha Ndizeye

Papers

Polymer synthesis in non-ionic deep eutectic solvents

Hierarchical Thin Film Architectures for Enhanced Sensor Performance: Liquid Crystal-Mediated Electrochemical Synthesis of Nanostructured Imprinted Polymer Films for the Selective Recognition of Bupivacaine

Non-Ionic Deep Eutectic Liquids: Acetamide-Urea Derived Room Temperature Solvents.

Hierarchical polymeric architectures through molecular imprinting in liquid crystalline environments