Protein depletion with bacterial cellulose nanofibers

In this study, we have reported a novel fabrication technique for human serum albumin (HSA) imprinted composite bacterial cellulose nanofibers (MIP-cBCNFs) used for the depletion of HSA selectively from artificial blood plasma for proteomic applications. Molecular imprinting was achieved by using metal ion coordination interactions of N‑methacryloyl‑(l)‑histidinemethylester (MAH) monomer and Cu(II) ions. MAH-Cu(II)-HSA complex was polymerized with bacterial cellulose nanofibers (BCNFs) under constant stirring at room temperature. The characterization of the MIP-cBCNFs was carried out by FTIR-ATR, SEM, contact angle measurements and surface area measurements. The adsorption experiments of HSA onto the MIP-BCNFs and NIP-BCNFs from aqueous HSA solutions were investigated in a batch system. The selectivity of the MIP-cBCNFs was investigated by using non-template human transferrin (HTR), and myoglobin (Myo). The relative selectivity coefficients of the MIP-cBCNFs were calculated as 4.73 and 3.02 for HSA/HTR and HSA/Myo molecules, respectively. In addition, the depletion of HSA from artificial human plasma was confirmed by SDS-PAGE and 2-D gel electrophoresis. As a result, it has been shown that metal ion coordination interactions contribute to specific binding of template when preparing MIP-cBCNFs for the depletion of HSA with a high adsorption capacity, significant selectivity and reusability.