Coating lysozyme molecularly imprinted thin films on the surface of microspheres in aqueous solutions

The polymerization of 3-aminophenylboronic acid in an aqueous environment was used for the first time to modify polystyrene microspheres for protein (lysozyme) molecular imprinting. Polystyrene microspheres were prepared by styrene polymerization in an aqueous emulsion with poly(vinyl alcohol) as a surfactant. Poly(3-aminophenylboronic acid) was then grafted onto the surface of the polystyrene microspheres through oxidation by ammonium persulfate in an aqueous solution in the presence or absence of lysozyme or hemoglobin. Rebinding experiments were conducted to establish the equilibrium time and to detect the specific binding capacity and selective recognition. The results indicated that the microspheres, imprinted by the template protein lysozyme or hemoglobin, possessed specific recognition sites on the shells and had a high specific binding capacity for template proteins. The imprinted particles did not need to be ground or sieved and could easily reach the adsorption equilibrium, thus avoiding some problems of the bulk polymer. All these results demonstrate that the particles have potential applications as substitutes for bulk polymers in biological macromolecular affinity studies. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.