Amidine-based molecularly imprinted polymers-new sensitive elements for chiral chemosensors

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Polymer Science
• Chiral Separations

Background:

• Chiral compounds require specific separation techniques due to their distinct biological activities.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer a promising approach for selective molecular recognition and separation.
• Optical sensing techniques provide sensitive and label-free detection methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the chiral recognition capabilities of MIPs synthesized with specific tartaric acid enantiomers.
• To evaluate the performance of MIPs for chiral separation using reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS).
• To explore the potential of RIfS for distinguishing between enantiomers and their antipodes.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) imprinted with (R, R)- or (S, S)-2,3-di-O-benzoyltartraric acid.
• Utilizing reflectometric interference spectroscopy (RIfS) as an optical detection technique.
• Testing the interaction of MIPs with corresponding templates and their antipodes.

Main Results:

• Achieved successful chiral separation with a separation factor of 1.2 using the imprinted polymers.
• Demonstrated significantly higher separation performance compared to a reference polymer, which showed no separation.
• Observed RIfS signals of opposite sign for imprinted polymer layers containing phenylboronic acid binding site monomers, indicating enantioselective binding.

Conclusions:

• MIPs imprinted with specific tartaric acid enantiomers are effective for chiral separation.
• RIfS is a suitable optical technique for monitoring chiral recognition events with MIPs.
• The developed MIP-RIfS system shows potential for enantioselective sensing applications.