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A series of polymers molecularly imprinted with the general anaesthetic propofol were synthesized using both semi- and non-covalent approaches. The polymers were evaluated with respect to template rebinding in both aqueous and organic media. In aqueous media, the observed propofol binding in these polymer systems was largely hydrophobic and non-specific in nature. In non-polar solvents such as hexane, electrostatic (hydrogen bonding) interactions dominate resulting in some selectivity. The implication of these results, in conjunction with those obtained using structures of similar size in other studies, is that propofol, a template possessing limited functionality and size, appears to define the lower limit for template size and degree of functionalization that can be used for the creation of ligand-selective recognition sites in molecularly imprinted polymers. Furthermore, studies with alternative ligands indicate that the steric crowding of a ligand's functionality to the polymer contributes to the extent of polymer-ligand recognition.

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Three molecular imprinting strategies, each based upon a series of ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) cross-linked co-polymers, have been used to produce materials selective for the commonly used analgesic and antipyretic agent paracetamol (p-acetaminophen or 4-acetamidophenol) (1). The polymers were synthesised using either a semi-covalent imprinting strategy based upon 4-acetamidophenyl-(4-vinylphenyl) carbonate (4) or a non-covalent strategy based on methacrylic acid (MAA) as the functional monomer, or by employing a combination of these strategies. Radioligand binding studies demonstrated low template affinity in polymers offering only a single electrostatic interaction point for recognition via the phenolic residue in the template, whereas binding was substantially increased upon the introduction of a second binding mode, namely interaction at the acetamide moiety. HPLC analyses revealed no imprinting effect in the purely semi-covalent system, and only a minor effect in the purely non-covalent systems. However, a pronounced imprinting effect was demonstrated for polymers prepared by a combination of semi-covalent and non-covalent imprinting. This study illustrates a limitation of both the non-covalent and the semi-covalent strategies when it comes to achieving imprinted selectivity for small and poorly functionalised templates such as paracetamol. Parallels with conclusions from studies with antibodies are discussed.

We here present the first simulation of a complete molecularly imprinted polymer prepolymerization system. Molecular dynamics studies were performed for a system comprising a total of 1199 discrete molecules, replicating the components and concentrations employed in the corresponding polymer synthesis. The observed interactions correlate well with results obtained from (1)H NMR spectroscopic studies. Comparison with simulations performed in the absence of cross-linking agent (ethylene dimethacrylate) demonstrated its significance in the formation of ligand recognition sites. Moreover, the influence of events such as template-template (bupivacaine) and monomer-monomer (methacrylic acid) self-association, porogen-template interactions, and template conformational variability was revealed. The template recognition capacity of the modeled polymer system was verified by synthesis of imprinted and reference polymers and subsequent radioligand binding Analysis. Collectively, through a series of statistical analyses of molecular trajectories in conjunction with spectroscopic data it was demonstrated that an ensemble of complex structures is present in the prepolymerization mixture and that this diversity is the basis for the binding site heterogeneity observed in molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) prepared using the noncovalent strategy.

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In the present study, the interactions of components in a (−)-nicotine molecular imprinting polymerization mixture have been studied by NMR spectroscopy. The dissociation constants for complexation of template by a functional monomer analogue, acetic acid, have been determined. Nicotine was shown to self-associate at concentrations comparable to those used in previous molecular imprinting studies (app Kdiss=0.082 M in CDCl3 at 298 K). The extent of self-association was enhanced by the presence of acetic acid. Previous studies on (−)-nicotine–imprinted methacrylic acid–ethylene dimethacrylate co-polymers suggested the involvement of recognition sites for template–template complexes. Collectively these results provide the first direct evidence for the presence of template–template complexes, and support the previously hypothesized basis for cooperative ligand recognition events in this polymer system.

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