Computational Design of a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer for the Biomonitoring of the Organophosphorous Metabolite Chlorferron

Coumaphos is an organophosphorus compound used as insecticide and frequently used by beekeepers for the management of parasitic mites. The most important metabolite, chlorferron (CFN), has been identified in biological samples and foodstuff. The need to quickly identify the presence of typical metabolites, as an indication of interaction with coumaphos has driven the need to produce a highly sensitive electrochemical method for chlorferron analysis, based on molecularly imprinting polymers (MIP) technology. It showed irreversible behaviour with mixed diffusion/adsorption-controlled reactions at the electrode surface. A monoelectronic mechanism of reaction for oxidation has also been suggested. The linear range observed was from 0.158 to 75 µM. Median precision in terms of %RSD around 3% was also observed. For DPV, the limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantitation (LOQ) for the CFN-MIP were 0.158 µM and 0.48 µM, respectively. The obtained median % recovery was around 98%. The results were also validated to reference values obtained using GC-MS. Urine and human synthetic plasma spiked with CFN were used to demonstrate the usability of the method in biological samples, showing the potential for biomonitoring. The developed imprinted sensor showed maximum signal change less than 16.8% when related metabolites or pesticide were added to the mix, suggesting high selectivity of the MIP sensor toward CFN molecules. The results from in vitro metabolism of CMP analysed also demonstrates the potential for detection and quantification of CFN in environmental samples. The newly developed CFN-MIP sensor offers similar LoDs than chromatographic methods with shorter analysis time.

Molecularly Imprinting Polymers (MIP) Based on Nitrogen Doped Carbon Dots and MIL-101(Fe) for Doxorubicin Hydrochloride Delivery

MIL-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) nanocomposites were successfully synthesized through a simple and versatile stirring auxiliary encapsulation method. MIP as a carrier has been applied to the highly efficient selective recognition and sustained release of doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX). The adsorption mechanism and release behavior of MIP@DOX in vitro were also discussed. Adsorption studies showed that MIP using DOX as template had specific selectivity to DOX, and its optimal drug loading efficiency reached 97.99%. The adsorption isotherm accorded with Freundlich models. The cumulative release curve showed that at the conditions of pH 5.5 and 7.4, the nanomaterials have a slow-release effect on the release of DOX. In addition, the cytotoxicity and bioactivity of MIP nanoparticles on HepG2 and HL-7702 cell lines measured by MTT assay also proved their low toxicity and biological activity. The cell activity of HepG2 and HL-7702 incubated with MIP for 24 h was 69.9% and 76.07%, respectively. These results collectively illustrated that the MIP nano-materials synthesized in this study can be efficiently employed to the drug delivery systems.

Acrylamide-Modified 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilanes Hybrid Monomer for Highly Selective Imprinting Recognition of Theophylline

The hybrid monomer synthesized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilanes and acrylamide was applied for synthesis of molecularly imprinting polymers, and the obtained polymers were used as sorbent in solid-phase extraction for purification of theophylline (THP) in green tea. The static adsorption curves showed better molecular recognition ability and binding capability of the polymers for the target. On the optimized condition, a method was developed for increasing extraction of THP with satisfactory recovery of 93.7%. Good calibration linearity obtained in a range of 5–500 μg·mL−1. The recoveries at three spiked levels ranged from 86.7% to 100.7% with relative standard deviations ≤6.6% (n = 3). The result showed that the obtained polymers exhibited highly selective imprinting recognition to the analyte, and the number of templates was an important factor affecting the selective recognition ability of polymers. The proposed method with hybrid monomer imprinting polymers was successfully applied for purification of THP in green tea.

Core-Shell Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanocomposites for Biomedical and Environmental Applications

: Core-shell polymers represent a class of composite particles comprising of minimum two dissimilar constituents, one at the center known as a core which is occupied by the other called shell. Core-shell molecularly imprinting polymers (CSMIPs) are composites prepared via printing a template molecule (analyte) in the coreshell assembly followed by their elimination to provide the everlasting cavities specific to the template molecules. Various other types of CSMIPs with a partial shell, hollow-core and empty-shell are also prepared. Numerous methods have been reported for synthesizing the CSMIPs. CSMIPs composites could develop the ability to identify template molecules, increase the relative adsorption selectivity and offer higher adsorption capacity. Keen features are measured that permits these polymers to be utilized in numerous applications. It has been developed as a modern technique with the probability for an extensive range of uses in selective adsorption, biomedical fields, food processing, environmental applications, in utilizing the plant's extracts for further applications, and sensors. This review covers the approaches of developing the CSMIPs synthetic schemes, and their application with special emphasis on uses in the biomedical field, food care subjects, plant extracts analysis and in environmental studies.