Lock and key templation of molecularly imprinted polymer for small molecule recognition
A composition of matter has a molecularly imprinted polymer having templated pores, and a reactive material occupying a portion of each pore, the reactive material selected to react when an analyte material for which the cavities are templated enters the cavities. A method of synthesizing a molecularly imprinted polymer includes arranging monomers around a template molecule having a reactive component and an analyte component, polymerizing the monomers, removing the template molecule, and reintroducing the reactive component of the template molecule. A method of detecting an analyte includes exposing a molecularly imprinted polymer to a fluid, the polymer having templated pores containing a detector material that is reactive to an analyte.
1 . A composition of matter, comprising:
a molecularly imprinted polymer having templated pores; and
a removable reactive material occupying a portion of each pore, the reactive material selected to react when an analyte material for which the pores are templated enters the pores.
2 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reactive material has a characteristic that changes in a detectable manner in response to the analyte.
3 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the templated pores are configured to bind to at least one of the reactive material and the analyte material through one of either steric or electronic effects.
4 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reactive material includes functional groups reactive to the analyte.
5 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reactive material is a detector material.
6 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the detector material is 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate (NQS), and the analyte is one of the group consisting of: methamphetamine, 3,4-Methylenedioxyl-methamphetamine (MDMA), 4-methylenedioxyl-N-ethylampthetamine (MDEA) ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine.
7 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the detector material comprises Fast blue B dye and the analyte comprises tetrahydrocannabinol.
8 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the reactive material has a response that is at least one of colorimetric, fluorescent, optical transmission change, or a spectroscopic detectable change.
9 . The composition of matter as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the analyte is a small molecule.
10 . A method of synthesizing a molecularly imprinted polymer, comprising:
arranging monomers around a template molecule having a reactive component and an analyte component;
polymerizing the monomers;
removing the template molecule; and
reintroducing the reactive component of the template molecule.
11 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein arranging the monomers around a template molecule comprises arranging monomers with one of reversible covalent or reversible non-covalent interactions.
12 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein polymerizing the monomers further comprises adding at least one of other monomers and cross-linkers prior to polymerizing the monomers.
13 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein polymerizing the monomers comprises one of radical polymerization, condensation polymerization, and ring opening polymerization.
14 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein removing the template molecule comprises at least one of washing and extraction.
15 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , further comprising washing the polymer after reintroducing the reactive component to remove any excess of the component.
16 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the template molecule has a first component as 1,2-naphthoquinone-4-sulfonate (NQS), and a second component as one of the group consisting of: methamphetamine, 3,4-Methylenedioxyl-methamphetamine (MDMA), 4-methylenedioxyl-N-ethylampthetamine (MDEA) ephedrine, and pseudoephedrine.
17 . The method as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the template molecule has a first component as Fast blue B dye and a second component as tetrahydrocannabinol.
18 . A method of detecting an analyte comprising exposing a molecularly imprinted polymer to a fluid, the polymer having templated pores containing a detector material that is reactive to an analyte.
19 . The method as claimed in claim 18 , further comprising separating the analyte from the fluid using the molecularly imprinted polymer as a membrane.
20 . The method as claimed in claim 18 , wherein the detector material reacts to the analyte by one of a colorimetric, fluorescent, optical transmission, or spectroscopic change.