Polymer Composition Primarily Determines the Protein Recognition Characteristics of Molecularly Imprinted Hydrogels.

ABSTRACT: Synthetic hydrogels with the ability to recognize and bind target proteins are useful for a number of applications, including biosensing and therapeutic agent delivery. One popular method for fabricating recognitive hydrogels is molecular imprinting. A long-standing hypothesis of the field is that these molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) retain the chemical and geometric profile of their protein template, resulting in subsequent ability to recognize the template in solution. Here, we systematically determined the influence of network composition, as well as the identity, amount, and extraction of imprinting templates, on the protein binding of MIPs. Network composition (i.e. the relative number of ionizable and hydrophobic groups) explained the extent of protein adsorption in all cases.

SUBMITTER: Venkataraman AK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7807727 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature