Issue 45, 2023

Towards molecularly imprinted polymers that respond to and capture phosphorylated tyrosine epitopes using fluorescent bis-urea and bis-imidazolium receptors

Abstract

Early detection of cancer is essential for successful treatment and improvement in patient prognosis. Deregulation of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, especially phosphorylation, is present in many types of cancer. Therefore, the development of materials for the rapid sensing of low abundant phosphorylated peptides in biological samples can be of great therapeutic value. In this work, we have synthesised fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (fMIPs) for the detection of the phosphorylated tyrosine epitope of ZAP70, a cancer biomarker. The polymers were grafted as nanometer-thin shells from functionalised submicron-sized silica particles using a reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. Employing the combination of fluorescent urea and intrinsically cationic bis-imidazolium receptor cross-linkers, we have developed fluorescent sensory particles, showing an imprinting factor (IF) of 5.0. The imprinted polymer can successfully distinguish between phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated tripeptides, reaching lower micromolar sensitivity in organic solvents and specifically capture unprotected peptide complements in a neutral buffer. Additionally, we have shown the importance of assessing the influence of counterions present in the MIP system on the imprinting process and final material performance. The potential drawbacks of using epitopes with protective groups, which can co-imprint with targeted functionality, are also discussed.

Graphical abstract: Towards molecularly imprinted polymers that respond to and capture phosphorylated tyrosine epitopes using fluorescent bis-urea and bis-imidazolium receptors

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
29 Jun 2023
Accepted
16 Oct 2023
First published
16 Oct 2023
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023,11, 10873-10882

Towards molecularly imprinted polymers that respond to and capture phosphorylated tyrosine epitopes using fluorescent bis-urea and bis-imidazolium receptors

E. Kislenko, A. İncel, K. Gawlitza, B. Sellergren and K. Rurack, J. Mater. Chem. B, 2023, 11, 10873 DOI: 10.1039/D3TB01474F

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements