Molecularly Imprinted Polymers as Synthetic Antibodies for Protein Recognition: The Next Generation

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are chemical antibody mimics obtained by nanomoulding the 3D shape and chemical functionalities of a desired target in a synthetic polymer. Consequently, they possess exquisite molecular recognition cavities for binding the target molecule, often with specificity and affinity similar to those of antigen‐antibody interactions. Research on MIPs targeting proteins began in the mid‐90s, and this review will evaluate the progress made till now, starting from their synthesis in a monolith bulk format through surface imprinting to biocompatible soluble nanogels prepared by solid‐phase synthesis. MIPs in the latter format will be discussed more in detail because of their tremendous potential of replacing antibodies in the biomedical domain like in diagnostics and therapeutics, where the workforce of antibodies is concentrated. Emphasis is also put on the development of epitope imprinting, which consists of imprinting a short surface‐exposed fragment of a protein, resulting in MIPs capable of selectively recognizing the whole macromolecule, amidst others in complex biological media, on cells or tissues. Thus selecting the ‘best’ peptide antigen is crucial and in this context a rational approach, inspired from that used to predict peptide immunogens for peptide antibodies, is described for its unambiguous identification.

Mitochondria-Targeted Thymidylate Synthase Inhibitor Based on Fluorescent Molecularly Imprinted Polymers for Tumor Antimetabolic Therapy

“…In summary, we propose a novel strategy that MIPs can perform antimetabolic therapeutic effects by inhibiting the activity of TS and thereby inhibiting the growth of colon tumor. Although the applications of MIP have been widely developed in the biomedical field, , studies on using MIP to inhibit TS activity for antimetabolic therapy of tumors have not been reported. The synthesized Mito-FMIP could hinder the binding of normal nucleotide metabolites to TS by specifically binding to the active site of TS, thereby blocking subsequent DNA replication and repair, ultimately leading to the inhibition of tumor growth.…”

Fabrication of Metal Ion–BSA Chelation-Targeted Surface-Imprinted Particles for Protein Separation

“…However, due to the large size, complex structure, and variable conformation of proteins,protein-imprinted polymer materials still face some defects in preparation and application, such as slow mass transfer, low efficiency, few effective imprinting sites, and poor recognition. In order to solve the above problems, researchers have continuously improved the preparation process and imprinting methods of protein-imprinted materials and developed a series of new protein imprinting strategies, including protein surface imprinting technique, − molecular imprinting of smart materials, − antigen-determining base imprinting, − imprinting of magnetic materials, − and metal-chelating imprinting. , Among them, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) ,− prepared by the protein surface imprinting technology are favored. The typical preparation process of such materials is as follows: the target molecule is used as a template, it is preassembled with functional monomers by the covalent or non-covalent interaction, and the template molecule is fixed in the cross-linked three-dimensional network through polymerization.…”

Preparation of Magnetic Superhydrophilic Imprinted Nanocomposite Resin and its Application in the Extraction of Chlorophenols in Water

“…[3][4][5] MIPs possess the characteristics of structural predetermination, specific recognition and wide application, and can specifically recognize selected molecule. [6][7][8][9][10][11] Employing methacrylic acid and divinylbenzene as monomer and crosslinking agent, Professor Chen's group prepared multitemplate imprinted polymers combined with precipitation polymerization. The obtained MIPs can selectively extract six CPs in water samples.…”