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Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms

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A special issue of Sensors (ISSN 1424-8220). This special issue belongs to the section "Chemical Sensors".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2020) | Viewed by 19773

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Mashaalah Zarejousheghani

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Guest Editor

TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Institute of Electronic and Sensor Materials, Gustav-Zeuner-Straße 3, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Interests: molecularly imprinted polymer; sensor; sample preparation; ion mobility spectrometry; development of new analytical devices
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Helko Borsdorf

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Guest Editor

UFZ-Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research, Department Monitoring and Exploration Technologies, Permoserstraße 15, D-04318 Leipzig, Germany
Interests: development of tools for field analytical chemistry; ion mobility spectrometry; air- and water monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Over the last few years, development of sensitive and selective sensors has rapidly grown for relatively low-cost monitoring of biomarkers and important chemical compounds in real samples having complex matrices. This is more critical for developing countries where equipped laboratories are also less established. Among selective sorbent materials, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) show promise as cost-effective and rugged artificial selective sorbents, which have a wide variety of applications in combination with sensors.

This Special Issue invites original research papers and review articles proposing developments in MIP-modified sensors from different basic and applied research topics, including new polymerization methods and MIP optimization, synthesis of nanoscale MIP materials as nanolayers or nanoparticles (nanogel, microgel), MIPs for new important targets in biological, environmental, food, and forensic samples (liquid, solid, semi-solid or gas samples), new sensory concepts and new sensory substrates (wearable, flexible, miniaturization, etc.), innovative sensor designs (sensor array, statistical procedures, modelling, fuzzy logic, wireless communication, etc.), novel modification procedures, etc. Research on scale-up and commercialization is also encouraged.

Dr. Mashaalah Zarejousheghani
Dr. habil. Helko Borsdorf
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)
MIP-modified sensors
Novel sensory concept
New sensor substrate
MIP optimization
Nanoscale MIP materials
Imprinted microgel and nanogel
New applications for MIP-modified sensors
Commercialization

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 5411 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Rational Design of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Using Quaternary Ammonium Cations for Glyphosate Detection

by Mashaalah Zarejousheghani, Alaa Jaafar, Hendrik Wollmerstaedt, Parvaneh Rahimi, Helko Borsdorf, Stefan Zimmermann and Yvonne Joseph

Sensors 2021, 21(1), 296; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21010296 - 04 Jan 2021

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3102

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted polymers have emerged as cost-effective and rugged artificial selective sorbents for combination with different sensors. In this study, quaternary ammonium cations, as functional monomers, were systematically evaluated to design imprinted polymers for glyphosate as an important model compound for electrically charged and highly water-soluble chemical compounds. To this aim, a small pool of monomers were used including (3-acrylamidopropyl)trimethylammonium chloride, [2-(acryloyloxy)ethyl]trimethylammonium chloride, and diallyldimethylammonium chloride. The simultaneous interactions between three positively charged monomers and glyphosate were preliminary evaluated using statistical design of the experiment method. Afterwards, different polymers were synthesized at the gold surface of the quartz crystal microbalance sensor using optimized and not optimized glyphosate-monomers ratios. All synthesized polymers were characterized using atomic force microscopy, contact angle, Fourier-transform infrared, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Evaluated functional monomers showed promise as highly efficient functional monomers, when they are used together and at the optimized ratio, as predicted by the statistical method. Obtained results from the modified sensors were used to develop a simple model describing the binding characteristics at the surface of the different synthesized polymers. This model helps to develop new synthesis strategies for rational design of the highly selective imprinted polymers and to use as a sensing platform for water soluble and polar targets. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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13 pages, 4259 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Magnetic Imprinted Polymer-Based Quartz Crystal Microbalance Sensor for Sensitive Label-Free Detection of Methylene Blue in Groundwater

by Yufeng Hu, Hanwen Xing, Gang Li and Minghuo Wu

Sensors 2020, 20(19), 5506; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20195506 - 25 Sep 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2321

Abstract

Tiny changes in the mass of the sensor in a quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM-D) can be observed. However, the lack of specificity for target species has hindered the use of QCM-D. Here, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were used to modify a QCM-D sensor to provide specificity. The MIPs were formed in the presence of sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate. Imprinted layers on Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles were formed using pyrrole as the functional monomer and cross-linker and methylene blue (MB) as a template. The MIPs produced were then attached to the surface of a QCM-D sensor. The MIPs-coated QCM-D sensor could recognize MB and gave a linear response in the concentration range 25 to 1.5 × 10² µg/L and a detection limit of 1.4 µg/L. The QCM-D sensor was selective for MB over structural analogs. The MIPs-coated QCM-D sensor was successfully used to detect MB in river water and seawater samples, and the recoveries were good. This is the first time MB has been detected using a QCM-D sensor. Mass is an intrinsic property of matter, so this method could easily be extended to other target species by using different MIPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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10 pages, 2211 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Sensing HIV Protease and Its Inhibitor Using “Helical Epitope”—Imprinted Polymers

by Chien-Yu Chou, Chung-Yin Lin, Cheng-Hsin Wu and Dar-Fu Tai

Sensors 2020, 20(12), 3592; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20123592 - 25 Jun 2020

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 2761

Abstract

A helical epitope-peptide (lle⁸⁵-Gly⁹⁴) was selected from the α-helix structure of the HIV protease (PR) as the template, which represents an intricate interplay between structure conformation and dimerization. The peptide template was mixed with water, trifluoroethanol (TFE), and acetonitrile (ACN) at a certain ratio to enlarge the helical conformation in the solution for the fabrication of helical epitope-mediated molecularly imprinted polymers (HEMIPs) on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) chip. The template molecules were then removed under equilibrium batch rebinding conditions involving 5% acetic acid/water. The resulting HEMIPs chip exhibited a high affinity toward template peptide HIV PR_85–94, His-tagged HIV PR, and HIV PR, with dissociation constants (K_d) as 160, 43.3, and 78.5 pM, respectively. The detection limit of the developed HIV PR_85–94 QCM sensor is 0.1 ng/mL. The HEMIPs chip exhibited a high affinity and selectivity to bind HIV PR and subsequently to an inhibitor of HIV PR (nelfinavir). The HIV PR binding site was properly oriented on the HEMIPs-chip to develop a HIV PR/HEMIPs chip, which can effectively bind nelfinavir to establish a sandwich assay. The nelfinavir then attached to the HIV PR/HEMIPs chip, which can be easily removed involving 0.8% acetic acid/water. Therefore, HIV PR/HEMIPs chip can be useful to screen for other HIV PR inhibitors. This technique may improve drug targeting for HIV therapy and also strengthen investigations into other virus assays. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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14 pages, 2767 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effective and Efficient Pretreatment of Polyimide Substrates by Capacitively Coupled Plasma for Coating the Composites of Tetracycline-Imprinted Polymers and Quantum Dots: Comparison with Chemical Pretreatment

by Ching-Bin Ke and Jian-Lian Chen

Sensors 2020, 20(9), 2723; https://doi.org/10.3390/s20092723 - 10 May 2020

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2381

Abstract

Composites of tetracycline (Tc)-imprinted polymethacrylates and quantum dots have been coated on chemically pretreated polyimide substrates (PIs) as fluorescent sensors. In this study, PIs were pretreated by capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) before coating the same composites on them. For the first time, to fabricate sensors by plasma modification of PIs, the CCP conditions, including plasma gas, flow rate, radio frequency generation power, and duration time, the fabrication details, including coating, baking, and stripping steps, and the sample loading process were optimized to perform a linear decrease in fluorescent intensity with Tc concentrations in the range of 5.0–3000 μM (R² = 0.9995) with a limit of detection of 0.2 μM (S/N = 3, relative standard deviation (RSD) = 2.2%). The selectivity of the stripped PIs was evaluated by the imprinting factors (IFs) for Tc (IF = 7.2), other Tc analogues (IF = 3.4–5.3), and steroids (IF ≈ 1) and by the recoveries of 5.0 μM Tc from bovine serum albumin at 300 μg∙mL⁻¹ (98%, RSD = 3.2%), fetal bovine serum at 1.5 ppt (98%, RSD = 2.8%), and liquid milk (94.5%, RSD = 5.3%). The superiority of the present plasma-treated-based sensor over the previous chemically-treated one in fabrication efficiency and detection effectiveness was clear. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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Review

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25 pages, 40673 KiB

Open AccessReview

Biomimetic Sensors to Detect Bioanalytes in Real-Life Samples Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: A Review

by Birgit Bräuer, Christine Unger, Martin Werner and Peter A. Lieberzeit

Sensors 2021, 21(16), 5550; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21165550 - 18 Aug 2021

Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3794

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) come with the promise to be highly versatile, useful artificial receptors for sensing a wide variety of analytes. Despite a very large body of literature on imprinting, the number of papers addressing real-life biological samples and analytes is somewhat limited. Furthermore, the topic of MIP-based sensor design is still, rather, in the research stage and lacks wide-spread commercialization. This review summarizes recent advances of MIP-based sensors targeting biological species. It covers systems that are potentially interesting in medical applications/diagnostics, in detecting illicit substances, environmental analysis, and in the quality control of food. The main emphasis is placed on work that demonstrates application in real-life matrices, including those that are diluted in a reasonable manner. Hence, it does not restrict itself to the transducer type, but focusses on both materials and analytical tasks. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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23 pages, 1905 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceReview

Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Based Sensors for Priority Pollutants

by Mashaalah Zarejousheghani, Parvaneh Rahimi, Helko Borsdorf, Stefan Zimmermann and Yvonne Joseph

Sensors 2021, 21(7), 2406; https://doi.org/10.3390/s21072406 - 31 Mar 2021

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 4402

Abstract

Globally, there is growing concern about the health risks of water and air pollution. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has developed a list of priority pollutants containing 129 different chemical compounds. All of these chemicals are of significant interest due to their serious health and safety issues. Permanent exposure to some concentrations of these chemicals can cause severe and irrecoverable health effects, which can be easily prevented by their early identification. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer great potential for selective adsorption of chemicals from water and air samples. These selective artificial bio(mimetic) receptors are promising candidates for modification of sensors, especially disposable sensors, due to their low-cost, long-term stability, ease of engineering, simplicity of production and their applicability for a wide range of targets. Herein, innovative strategies used to develop MIP-based sensors for EPA priority pollutants will be reviewed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms)

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