Synthesis and application of molecularly imprinted polymers for trypsin piezoelectric sensors

Polymer particles imprinted for the protein trypsin (MIPs) were synthesized via miniemulsion polymerization. The influence of the nature of the cross-linker and the incubation time on the characteristics of the polymer particles was investigated. Optimized results concerning binding capacity and selectivity were obtained for MIPs utilizing methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate for generating MIP particles with a diameter of 200 nm. It was found that thus obtained materials follow pseudo-second order sorption kinetics when rebinding the template. These MIP particles were then used as molecular recognition element for biomimetic piezoelectric sensors directly assaying trypsin. The obtained calibration functions corroborated a linear response in a concentration range of 0.125-2 mu g mL(-1) with a limit of detection at 0.07 mu g mL(-1). Finally, the developed sensor was tested for the detection of trypsin in pharmaceutical formulations.