Molecular imprinting science and technology: a survey of the literature for the years up to and including 2003

This review is devoted to the most recent developments (2000–2005) of sol–gel materials at the interface with biology. In the context of bioencapsulation in mineral hosts, novel synthetic approaches have been designed, allowing the immobilization of numerous proteins, enzymes and immune molecules as well as poly-saccharides, phospholipids and nucleic acids. These efforts have led to the development of new biosensors and bioreactors. A similar trend was also observed for whole cell encapsulation, survival periods over several weeks now being achieved. This has opened the possibility of designing hybrid hosts for cell-based biosensing and bioproduction, ultimately allowing the development of artificial organs. Indeed, applications of sol–gel processes are not restricted to bioencapsulation, as demonstrated by recent progress in drug release systems and bioactive materials. Finally, the considerable efforts devoted to the biomimetic elaboration of mineral structures suggest that they might be the key for future development of improved sol–gel materials for bio-applications.

Recent bio-applications of sol–gel materials

The technique of molecular imprinting allows the formation of specific recognition and catalytic sites in macromolecules by the use of templates. Molecularly imprinted polymers have been applied in an increasing number of applications where molecular binding events are of interest. These include (i) the use of molecularly imprinted polymers as tailor-made separation materials, (ii) antibody and receptor binding site mimics in recognition and assay systems, (iii) enzyme mimics for catalytic applications, and (iv) recognition elements in bio-sensors. The stability and low cost of molecularly imprinted polymers make them advantageous for use in analysis as well as in industrial scale production and application.

The Emerging Technique of Molecular Imprinting and Its Future Impact on Biotechnology

Synthetic materials capable of selectively recognizing proteins are important in separations, biosensors and the development of biomedical materials. The technique of molecular imprinting creates specific recognition sites in polymers by using template molecules. Molecular recognition is attributed to binding sites that complement molecules in size, shape and chemical functionality. But attempts to imprint proteins have met with only limited success. Here we report a method for imprinting surfaces with protein-recognition sites. We use radio-frequency glow-discharge plasma deposition to form polymeric thin films around proteins coated with disaccharide molecules. The disaccharides become covalently attached to the polymer film, creating polysaccharide-like cavities that exhibit highly selective recognition for a variety of template proteins, including albumin, immunoglobulin G, lysozyme, ribonuclease and streptavidin. Direct imaging of template recognition is achieved by patterning a surface at the micrometre scale with imprinted regions.

Template-imprinted nanostructured surfaces for protein recognition

https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/pdf/S0167-7799(00)01457-8.pdf

Olof Norrlöw

Papers

Use of silane monomers for molecular imprinting and enzyme entrapment in polysiloxane-coated porous silica

Imprinted polymers as antibody mimetics and new affinity gels for selective separations in capillary electrophoresis

Acrylic polymer preparations containing recognition sites obtained by imprinting with substrates

The function of cation-binding agents in the enzymatic treatment of municipal sludge

Improved chromatography: prearranged distances between boronate groups by the molecular imprinting approach