Issue 49, 2018

Beyond natural antibodies – a new generation of synthetic antibodies created by post-imprinting modification of molecularly imprinted polymers

Abstract

The molecular imprinting technology yields artificial materials capable of antibody-like molecular recognition. Molecularly imprinted materials are attractive because procedures for their preparation and use are comparatively simple. The number of research reports concerning molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been increasing yearly, attracting a great deal of interest in various fields. However, as most MIPs have been generated by relatively simple methods developed from the 1970s to the 2000s, resulting in MIPs bearing a single function, their capabilities are limited compared to those of multi-functionalised naturally occurring materials. Proteins are biosynthesised through multiple steps, including fabrication of peptide backbone and subsequent post-translational modifications that introduce additional functionalities, finally producing the mature protein. Post-imprinting modification (PIM) is an innovative strategy for generating MIPs analogous to biosynthetic proteins. New functionalities are introduced, in a site-directed manner, into a molecular imprinted cavity. Monomer residues in the cavity are chemically modified to incorporate new features, such as on/off switching of binding activity, fluorescence signalling, photoresponsivity, and finely tuned binding characteristics. In this Feature Article, we provide an overview of multifunctional MIPs prepared via PIMs developed earlier and the currently used state-of-the-art ones.

Graphical abstract: Beyond natural antibodies – a new generation of synthetic antibodies created by post-imprinting modification of molecularly imprinted polymers

Article information

Article type
Feature Article
Submitted
12 Apr 2018
Accepted
17 May 2018
First published
17 May 2018

Chem. Commun., 2018,54, 6243-6251

Author version available

Beyond natural antibodies – a new generation of synthetic antibodies created by post-imprinting modification of molecularly imprinted polymers

T. Takeuchi and H. Sunayama, Chem. Commun., 2018, 54, 6243 DOI: 10.1039/C8CC02923G

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements