Molecular imprinting of luminescent vesicles

Area of Science:

• Biomaterials Science
• Chemical Sensing
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Molecular imprinting creates specific binding sites but often faces challenges with accessibility and affinity.
• Functionalized unilamellar vesicles offer a dynamic platform for biomimetic applications.
• Developing sensitive and specific chemosensors remains a key goal in analytical chemistry.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop novel luminescent chemosensors with high specificity and affinity using molecular imprinting on fluid vesicles.
• To integrate polydiacetylene (PDA) imprinting with dynamic vesicle systems for enhanced analyte detection.
• To create surface-exposed, accessible binding sites for efficient analyte recognition.

Main Methods:

• Photopolymerization of diacetylene-containing vesicles in the presence of peptide templates to form imprinted PDA patches.
• Incorporation of amphiphilic carboxyfluorescein into the vesicle membrane for fluorescence-based signal transduction.
• Utilizing the change in emission intensity of carboxyfluorescein upon analyte binding to the imprinted sites.

Main Results:

• Successfully created imprinted polydiacetylene (PDA) patches on vesicle surfaces, acting as multivalent receptor sites.
• Achieved significantly increased rebinding affinity for template molecules due to the imprinted PDA patches.
• Demonstrated high-sensitivity detection of analytes via changes in carboxyfluorescein emission intensity.
• Confirmed that all binding sites are surface-exposed and accessible for analyte binding.

Conclusions:

• The combination of PDA imprinting with dynamic functionalized vesicles overcomes limitations in current molecular imprinting techniques for chemosensor design.
• This approach yields specific and high-affinity luminescent chemosensors with surface-accessible binding sites.
• The developed method shows potential for broad applicability in detecting various target analytes.