Molecularly imprinted polymers for alpha-tocopherol delivery

Biomedical applications of antioxidants have increased dramatically since the link between human diseases and oxidative stress was established. This paper focuses on alpha-tocopherol and on the possibility of employing molecularly imprinted polymers as a controlled release device for alpha-tocopherol in gastrointestinal simulating fluids. Polymers were synthesized using methacrylic acid as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linker. Considerable differences in recognition characteristics between imprinted and non-imprinted polymers, both in organic and in aqueous media, were observed. Imprinted polymers bound much more alpha-tocopherol and showed a controlled/sustained drug release capacity in gastrointestinal simulating fluids.