Development of Molecular Imprinting Technology and The Effective Use of Molecular Imprinted Polymers

Abstract

Highly selective molecules used for antibodies or enzymes have great importance in chemistry, diagnosis and biology. However, the production of these natural receptors is difficult and expensive. Their longevity and applicability are also limited. Molecular imprinting technique (MIT) has been developed to overcome these limitations. The functional groups of the polymerizable monomers are combined with the template molecule to enable the desired selectivity. After polymerization in the presence of cross-linkers, template molecules in the polymer are removed to obtain molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) recognizing the size, shape and surface chemistry of the template molecule. Polymers that are selective to template molecule are cheaper, simpler and more durable than their counterparts. Polymers with different properties can be produced using a wide variety of monomers. MIT development has been ongoing for over 30 years and it’s an effective method for preparing synthetic molecular recognition systems with similar binding properties like natural antibodies. MIPs used as initial separation methods are polymers, synthetic enzymes, biological receptors and biosensors with catalytic activity under the influence of progressive studies and technological developments. MIT can be adapted to the Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), an immunological assay based on antibody-antigen interaction. MIPs are used in drug development studies, drug delivery and medicine as biomimetic antibodies. In our study, we showed that MIP imprinted against template molecule, can bind its target molecule in in vitro cell culture assays and can also be used in an ELISA.