Molecularly Imprinted Systems for Biorecognition and Biosensing

A special issue of Biomimetics (ISSN 2313-7673). This special issue belongs to the section "Biomimetic Processing and Molecular Biomimetics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 3509

Special Issue Editor

Department of Manufacturing and Civil Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
Interests: molecular imprinting; intermolecular interactions; nanotechnology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The adaption of molecularly imprinted polymers to aqueous applications provided the technological leap required to earn their ‘plastic antibody’ sobriquet. Selective recognition of biological compounds provides the foundation for great social and commercial opportunities in molecular imprinting, as well as exciting challenges to those interested in the underlying science. An open invitation is therefore given to any researchers working in the area of biomimetic imprinted polymers to share their original research or reviews and speculations in this Special Issue, ‘Molecularly Imprinted Systems for Biorecognition and Biosensing’.

Subjects for publication may include molecularly imprinted polymers for a broad range of medical applications, biosensing elements in the detection of biomarkers and drug analytes, or more unconventional therapeutics based on imprinted polymer nanoparticles. Of particular interest would be polymers suited to the study of biological processes, techniques which may lead to new discoveries in biological chemistry and beyond. Speculative reviews on these or other subjects would be equally welcome, particularly those on an original subject. I look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Todd Cowen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Biomimetics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • biomimetics
  • molecularly imprinted polymers
  • biosensors
  • biorecognition
  • nanotherapy
  • plastic antibodies
  • drug detection
  • pharmaceutics
  • protein–protein interactions

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 1933 KiB  
Article
A Biomimetic Polymer for the Extraction and Purification of Superior Analogues of Amphotericin B
by Todd Cowen, Simon Walmsley, Kal Karim, Resul Haser, Patrick Caffrey, Elena Piletska, Bernard Rawlings and Sergey A. Piletsky
Biomimetics 2023, 8(3), 273; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8030273 - 27 Jun 2023
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Abstract
Amphotericin B has been an essential drug in the fight against leishmaniasis and fungal pathogens for decades, and has more recently gained attention for the very limited microbial resistance displayed against it. However, its toxicity has restricted its use to only the most [...] Read more.
Amphotericin B has been an essential drug in the fight against leishmaniasis and fungal pathogens for decades, and has more recently gained attention for the very limited microbial resistance displayed against it. However, its toxicity has restricted its use to only the most severe cases of disease, and attempts to reduce these ill effects via formulation have had only minor success. Genetic engineering has allowed the development of superior amphotericin analogues, notably 16-descarboxyl-16-methyl amphotericin B (MeAmB), which shows a ten-fold reduction in toxicity in addition to a slight improvement in therapeutic activity. However, MeAmB is difficult to extract from its bacterial source and purify. Presented here is an alternative method of MeAmB purification. A biomimetic polymer with a high affinity for MeAmB was designed via computational modelling and synthesised. Prepared as a separation column, the polymer was able to retain the target MeAmB whilst allowing the removal of cell debris from the bacterial extract. Starting with a simple bacterial extract, the relatively simple process allowed the purification of an MeAmB salt complex at approximately 70% MeAmB, and likely higher purification from further extraction. The mean MeAmB recovery between the pre-purification extract sample and the final product was 81%. This is the first successful demonstration of extraction or purification of any amphotericin molecule with any polymeric material. The biomimetic polymer was additionally reusable and simple to fabricate, giving this technique significant advantages over traditional methods of extraction and purification of valuable compounds. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Systems for Biorecognition and Biosensing)
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Review

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33 pages, 7141 KiB  
Review
Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Based Biomimetic Systems for Sensing Environmental Contaminants, Biomarkers, and Bioimaging Applications
by Kalaipriya Ramajayam, Selvaganapathy Ganesan, Purnimajayasree Ramesh, Maya Beena, Thangavelu Kokulnathan and Arunkumar Palaniappan
Biomimetics 2023, 8(2), 245; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomimetics8020245 - 08 Jun 2023
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2166
Abstract
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), a biomimetic artificial receptor system inspired by the human body’s antibody-antigen reactions, have gained significant attraction in the area of sensor development applications, especially in the areas of medical, pharmaceutical, food quality control, and the environment. MIPs are found [...] Read more.
Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), a biomimetic artificial receptor system inspired by the human body’s antibody-antigen reactions, have gained significant attraction in the area of sensor development applications, especially in the areas of medical, pharmaceutical, food quality control, and the environment. MIPs are found to enhance the sensitivity and specificity of typical optical and electrochemical sensors severalfold with their precise binding to the analytes of choice. In this review, different polymerization chemistries, strategies used in the synthesis of MIPs, and various factors influencing the imprinting parameters to achieve high-performing MIPs are explained in depth. This review also highlights the recent developments in the field, such as MIP-based nanocomposites through nanoscale imprinting, MIP-based thin layers through surface imprinting, and other latest advancements in the sensor field. Furthermore, the role of MIPs in enhancing the sensitivity and specificity of sensors, especially optical and electrochemical sensors, is elaborated. In the later part of the review, applications of MIP-based optical and electrochemical sensors for the detection of biomarkers, enzymes, bacteria, viruses, and various emerging micropollutants like pharmaceutical drugs, pesticides, and heavy metal ions are discussed in detail. Finally, MIP’s role in bioimaging applications is elucidated with a critical assessment of the future research directions for MIP-based biomimetic systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecularly Imprinted Systems for Biorecognition and Biosensing)
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