Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) Thin Films and Microarrays

Molecular imprinting is a technique for preparing synthetic polymers with recognition sites specific for a target molecule. (11) The artificially generated recognition sites have their shapes, sizes and functionalities complementary to the target molecule, and are capable of rebinding the target molecules in preference to other closely related structures (Figure 4).

 

 

 

 

Schematic illustration of molecular imprinting. The functional monomers interact with the template or target molecule forming a complex, which is then crosslinked to yield a crosslinked network polymer. The template is subsequently removed leaving behind recognition sites that preferentially bind the template molecules.

Molecular imprinting employs a simple synthetic procedure and the resulting materials are robust in comparison to their naturally occurring counterparts. Taking advantage of these features, we focus our research on chemical sensors by integrating microfabrication with molecular imprinting. We employed soft lithography techniques to create free-standing MIP micromonoliths and studied their binding characteristics. (12,13) We have also fabricated MIP microstructures and evaluated their potential uses as optical sensors. ( 14,15)

 

References:

12. Yan, M.; Kapua, A., Fabrication of molecularly imprinted polymer microstructures. Anal. Chim. Acta 2001, 435, 163-67.
13. Brazier, J. J.; Yan, M., Micromonoliths and microfabricated molecularly imprinted polymers. Mol. Imprinted Mater. 2005, 491-516.
14. Chen, Y.-C.; Brazier, J. J.; Yan, M.; Bargo, P. R.; Prahl, S. A., Fluorescence-based optical sensor design for molecularly imprinted polymers. Sens. Actuators, B: Chemical 2004, B102, 107-116.
15. Chen, Y.-C.; Wang, Z.; Yan, M.; Prahl, S. A., Fluorescence anisotropy studies of molecular imprinted polymers. Luminescence 2006, 21, 7-14.