Estrone specific molecularly imprinted polymeric nanospheres: synthesis, characterization and applications for...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Estrone (EST) is a significant steroid hormone with implications in various physiological processes.
• Development of selective and sensitive detection methods for estrone is crucial for diagnostics and monitoring.
• Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer a promising approach for creating specific recognition elements in sensors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize estrone-imprinted nanospheres (nano-EST-MIPs) using N-methacryloyl-(l)-phenylalanine (MAPA) as a complexing monomer.
• To integrate these nano-EST-MIPs as a recognition layer in an electrochemical sensor.
• To evaluate the performance of the developed electrochemical biosensor for estrone detection.

Main Methods:

• Synthesis of EST-imprinted poly(2-hyroxyethylmethacrylate-co-N-methacryloyl-(l)-phenylalanine) [EST-imprinted poly(HEMA-MAPA)] nanospheres via surfactant-free emulsion polymerization.
• Characterization of nanospheres using specific surface area analysis and elemental analysis.
• Development of an electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) based biosensor utilizing the nano-EST-MIPs.

Main Results:

• Successfully synthesized EST-imprinted nanospheres with a high specific surface area (1275 m²/g) and a size of 163.2 nm.
• Elemental analysis confirmed a high loading of MAPA within the nanospheres (95.3 mmole MAPA/g nanosphere).
• The developed nano-MIP based electrochemical sensor demonstrated excellent specificity and selectivity for estrone.

Conclusions:

• The study successfully prepared estrone-imprinted nanospheres suitable for biosensor applications.
• The integration of these nanospheres into an electrochemical sensor provides a novel and effective platform for estrone detection.
• This nano-MIP based electrochemical biosensor represents a significant advancement in selective hormone sensing technology.