Molecularly imprinted polypyrrole-based synthetic receptor for direct detection of bovine leukemia virus glycoproteins

Preparation and basic characterization of polypyrrole-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for label-free detection of bovine leukemia virus (BLV) glycoprotein gp51 (gp51) is firstly described. Polypyrrole (Ppy) was selected as a matrix for preparation of MIP. Polypyrrole doped by gp51 (gp51/Ppy) was prepared by electrochemical deposition of this polymer on the surface of platinum-black electrode. Then, molecules of gp51 were removed from polymeric backbone and molecularly imprinted polypyrrole (mPpy) was ready for recognition of gp51 in the aqueous solution. Pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) was applied for label-free detection of gp51 in the samples. Anti-gp51 antibodies and secondary antibodies labeled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) were involved as markers for the control of mPpy preparation procedures. Control experiments were also simultaneously performed by spectrophotometrical detection of HRP activity. Application of anti-gp51 and HRP labelled secondary antibodies confirmed that generation of analytical signal was based on redoping of mPpy by gp51. During our experiments, only few mPpy redoping/dedoping cycles were effective, but generally this method seems to be very effective for the future development of mPpy-based MIPs. Preparation, electrochemical investigation and control procedures are described in the current paper. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.