Molecularly Imprinted CaCO3/Polydopamine Hybrid Composite for Selective Protein Recognition

M.M. CITTA; BUSATTO, CARLOS; F. FOOKES; DIANA ESTENOZ; CASIS, N.

IRANIAN POLYMER JOURNAL

POLYMER RESEARCH CENTER IRAN

Año: 2023

1026-1265

Molecular imprinting has shown significant advances in the recognition and separationof small molecules. This technology has been proposed for different applicationsincluding solid-phase extraction, stationary phases in HPLC, chemical sensing, drugdelivery systems, passive sampling, among others. However, imprinting of biologicalmacromolecules with increased structural complexity is still challenging. In this work,CaCO3 microparticles were synthesized using a precipitation method and employed asa novel support for the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) towards amodel protein (bovine serum albumin, BSA), through the polymerization of dopamine.Microparticles exhibited a rhombohedral morphology and a narrow size distribution (2.5± 0.4 μm). Reaction times showed to increase the polydopamine coating thickness, theMIP adsorption capacities, and the impression efficiency, reaching values of 5.1 nm,50.2 ± 5.9 mg BSA/g sample, and 8.1 after 24 h, respectively. In addition, loweradsorption capacities were observed against proteins with similar physicochemicalproperties, such as ovalbumin (25.07 ± 2.5 mg/g) and casein (19.62 ± 7.01 mg/g). Theadsorption kinetic assay indicated that MIPs present the highest BSA adsorptioncapacity after 1 h. In this regard, a methodology that offers a simple approach for thesynthesis of materials designed for the specific recognition and separation of biologicalmolecules is presented. The microparticles developed represent a potential use forprotein separation in applications such as stationary phase in liquid chromatography.