Surface-imprinted polyurethane having affinity sites for ampicillin

Affinity sites for an antibacterial drug, ampicillin, were created on the surface of polyurethane using the technique of non-covalent molecular imprinting. This was achieved by polymerizing aminophenylboronic acid in the presence of the ampicillin as a template. The extent of adsorption of the drug by the imprinted surface is nearly five times higher than the non-imprinted surface. The in vitro release studies have shown that the drug is retained for a prolonged period on the imprinted surface while it is rapidly released from the non-imprinted surface. These modified materials were subjected to interactions with two bacterial strains, E. Coli and S. aureus. These species could not adhere to the imprinted surface, further showing the ability of the surface to retain the drug for a prolonged period of time. The non-imprinted surface retained the bacterial strains, reflecting the lack of the drug on the surface. This novel approach seems to be useful for creating surfaces capable of retaining components of interest through non-covalent interactions to impart specific features, such as improved blood compatibility and antibacterial properties. [diagram in text].