Synthesis of Monodispersed Submillimeter-Sized Molecularly Imprinted Particles Selective for Human Serum Albumin Using Inverse Suspension Polymerization in Water-in-Oil Emulsion Prepared Using Microfluidics

Langmuir. 2015 May 5;31(17):4981-7. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b00769. Epub 2015 Apr 20.

Abstract

We synthesized monodispersed submillimeter-sized (100 μm-1 mm) microgels by inverse suspension polymerization of water-soluble monomer species with a photoinitiator in water-in-oil (W/O) droplets formed by the microchannel. After fundamental investigations of the selection of suitable surfactants, surfactant concentration, and flow rate, we successfully prepared monodispersed submillimeter-sized W/O droplets. Because radical polymerization based on thermal initiation was not appropriated based on colloidal stability, we selected photoinitiation, which resulted in the successful synthesis of monodispersed submillimeter-sized microgels with sufficient colloidal stability. The microgel size was controlled by the flow rate of the oil phase, which maintained the monodispersity. In addition, the submillimeter-sized microgels exhibit high affinity and selective binding toward HSA utilizing molecular imprinting. We believe the monodispersed submillimeter-sized molecularly imprinted microgels can be used as affinity column packing materials without any biomolecules, such as antibodies, for sample pretreatment to remove unwanted proteins without a pump system.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Emulsions
  • Humans
  • Microfluidics / methods
  • Mineral Oil / chemistry*
  • Molecular Imprinting*
  • Polymerization
  • Polymers / chemistry*
  • Protein Binding
  • Serum Albumin / chemistry*
  • Surface-Active Agents / chemistry
  • Suspensions
  • Water / chemistry*

Substances

  • Emulsions
  • Polymers
  • Serum Albumin
  • Surface-Active Agents
  • Suspensions
  • Water
  • Mineral Oil