Protein-imprinted polymer films prepared via cavity-selective multi-step post-imprinting modifications for highly...

The use of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for achieving synthetic receptors capable of selective molecular recognition is promising; however, these polymers exhibit low selectivity derived from the heterogeneity of their created, imprinted cavities. To achieve highly selective protein recognition, we herein report the cavity-selective, multi-step, post-imprinting modification of MIPs. An MIP film for lysozyme was prepared by the copolymerization of {[2-(2-methacrylamido)ethyldithio]ethylcarbamoyl}methoxy acetic acid, a functional monomer possessing a modifiable disulfide bond, with acrylamide and N,N'-methylenebisacrylamide in the presence of lysozyme. After the removal of lysozyme, the disulfide bonds were cleaved by treatment with a reductant. A low concentration of lysozyme was then added to occupy the high-affinity cavities of the polymer and sterically protect the thiol groups within them. A poly(ethylene glycol)-based capping agent was reacted with the thiol groups residing in low-affinity cavities to hinder them. After the regeneration of the high-affinity cavities by washing out the bound lysozyme, the remaining thiol groups were reacted with 3-(2-pyridyldithio)propionic acid to introduce interacting groups, which produced capped MIPs. Comparing the capped and uncapped MIPs revealed that off-target protein binding was effectively suppressed by the capping treatment without any reduction in binding affinity (1.1 × 10⁹ M^-1). Further investigation revealed that the lysozyme concentration during the capping process is critical for the selectivity of the capped MIP. In this case, highly selective MIPs were achieved when the lowest lysozyme concentration (100 nM) was used. This facile process for creating highly selective, synthetic polymer receptors is a powerful approach for achieving plastic antibodies.