A novel ionic liquid polymer material with high binding capacity for proteins

In this research, a new macroporous polymer material with an excellent adsorption capacity for proteins was synthesized in aqueous medium by using an ionic liquid polymeric monomer, 1-vinyl-3-butylimidazolium chloride (ViBuIm(+)Cl(-)). It is the first time an ionic liquid has been chosen as a functional monomer to prepare polymer material for protein adsorption. The prepared ionic liquid material exhibited strong binding ability for many kinds of proteins, especially for lysozyme with a maximum binding capacity of 755.1 mg g(-1) under the optimum adsorption conditions. The ionic liquid monomer played an important role in the protein adsorption capacity of the material. In addition, the recognition property of the ionic liquid polymer material could be easily tuned by changing the anions of the ionic liquid. The morphology, structure, composition and thermal properties of the ionic liquid material were further characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyses (TGA). Easy preparation of the ionic liquid polymer material as well as high ability to adsorb proteins makes this material attractive and broadly applicable in biomacromolecular separation, biotechnology, assays and sensors.