A novel technique for the synthesis and testing of large numbers of molecularly imprinted polymers is described requiring much less time than the commonly used miniMIP approach. Instead of vials, the polymers are synthesized on the surface of microfiltration membranes in multiwell filterplates. The thin polymeric films enable accelerated template removal. The MIP development procedure is thereby shortened to two days. Performance of the system was demonstrated by creating a combinatorial library of MIPs selective for cimetidine, an antiulcer drug. The polymer composition has been optimized. An experimental design combined with a multivariate analysis (i.e., response surface modeling) was used to minimize the number of experiments in the optimization process. The highest imprinting factor was obtained using a MAA/EDMA/template molar ratio of 3.5:19.5:1.

A novel method for the electrochemical template synthesis of surface-imprinted magnetic polymer microrods for protein recognition is proposed. The polymer was electrodeposited into sacrificial cylindrical microreactors, the internal walls of which were previously modified with a target model protein, avidin, by simple physisorption.The electropolymerization was performed from a mixture of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene, poly(styrenesulfonate) (PSS) and PSS-coated superparamagnetic nanoparticles resulting in the formation of inherently electroconductive polymers confined to the volume of the microreactor. Here we show that: (i) the template synthesis within cylindrical microreactors results in polymer rods with dimensions matching that of the reactor, (ii) the incorporation of superparamagnetic particles induces magnetic properties that allow for efficient collection and manipulation of the microrods released from the microreactors in magnetic field even from dilute solution, (iii) the protein coating on the internal walls of the microreactors is shown to generate molecular imprints on the surface of the polymeric rods. This latter property was demonstrated by comparative binding experiments of a fluorescent avidin derivative to the surface-imprinted and non-imprinted magnetic polymer microrods.

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were synthesized in 24-well glass fiber membrane filter plates to obtain a novel type of solid phase extraction device for the cleanup of propranolol. Sample processing parameters like residence time during sample loading, sample volume, pH, sample solvent, type and amount of washing and elution solvents were investigated and optimized. Important differences from the traditional molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) cartridges have been identified. The MIP modified composite membrane suits well for the sample preparation of low volume biological samples. A protocol has been elaborated for the quantitation of propranolol from urine and plasma samples in the clinically relevant concentration ranges. Preliminary validation results indicate that the composite MIP membrane filter plates offer a viable alternative to existing MISPE cartridges and at the same time have advantages like much easier and faster synthesis method and high-throughput analysis.