Selective analysis of interferon-alpha in human serum with boronate affinity oriented imprinting based plastic antibody

Structure-Assisted Boronic Acid Implanted Mesoporous Metal-Organic Frameworks for Specific Extraction of cis-Diol Molecules

cis-Diol-containing molecules, an essential type of compounds in living organisms, have attracted intensive research interest from various fields. The analysis of cis-diol-containing molecules is still suffering from some drawbacks, including low abundance and abundant interference. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have proven to be an ideal sorbent for sample preparation. However, most of the reported MOFs are mainly restricted to a microporous regime (pore size <2 nm), which greatly limits the application. Herein, a facile strategy is established to construction of boronate affinity MOFs via the postsynthetic ligand-exchange process. Owing to the fact that the ligand-exchange process was assisted by the structural integrity of the primitive metal-organic framework and the great compatibility of click chemistry, the obtained EPBA-PCN-333(Fe) is able to realize the maximum maintaining the porosity and crystallinity of the parent material. Several intriguing features of EPBA-PCN-333(Fe) (e.g., excellent selectivity, efficient diffusion, good accessibility, and size exclusion effect) are experimentally demonstrated via a series of cis-diol-containing molecules with different molecular sizes (small molecules, glycopeptides, and glycoproteins). The binding performance of EPBA-PCN-333(Fe) is evaluated by employing catechol as the test molecule (binding capacity: 0.25 mmol/g, LOD: 200 ng/mL). Finally, the real-world applications of EPBA-PCN-333(Fe) were demonstrated by the detection of nucleosides of human urine samples.

Recent Advances in Molecular Imprinting for Proteins on Magnetic Microspheres

The separation of proteins in biological samples plays an essential role in the development of disease detection, drug discovery, and biological analysis. Protein imprinted polymers (PIPs) serve as a tool to capture target proteins specifically and selectively from complex media for separation purposes. Whereas conventional molecularly imprinted polymer is time-consuming in terms of incubation studies and solvent removal, magnetic particles are introduced using their magnetic properties for sedimentation and separation, resulting in saving extraction and centrifugation steps. Magnetic protein imprinted polymers (MPIPs), which combine molecularly imprinting materials with magnetic properties, have emerged as a new area of research hotspot. This review provides an overview of MPIPs for proteins, including synthesis, preparation strategies, and applications. Moreover, it also looks forward to the future directions for research in this emerging field.

Effect of environmental level of methomyl on hatching, morphology, immunity and development related genes expression in zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo

The extensive use of carbamate pesticides has led to a range of environmental and health problems, such as surface and groundwater contamination, and endocrine disorders in organisms. In this study, we focused on examining the effects of toxic exposure to the carbamate pesticide methomyl on the hatching, morphology, immunity and developmental gene expression levels in zebrafish embryos. Four concentrations of methomyl (0, 2, 20, and 200 μg/L) were administered to zebrafish embryos for a period of 96 h. The study found that exposure to methomyl accelerated the hatching process of zebrafish embryos, with the strongest effect recorded at the concentration of 2 μg/L. Methomyl exposure also trigged significantly reductions in heart rate and caused abnormalities in larvae morphology, and it also stimulated the synthesis and release of several inflammatory factors such as IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and INF-α, lowered the IgM contents, ultimately enhancing inflammatory response and interfering with immune function. All of these showed the significant effects on exposure time, concentration and their interaction (Time × Concentration). Furthermore, the body length of zebrafish exposed to methomyl for 96 h was significantly shorter, particularly at higher concentrations (200 μg/L). Methomyl also affected the expression levels of genes associated with development (down-regulated igf1, bmp2b, vasa, dazl and piwi genes), demonstrating strong developmental toxicity and disruption of the endocrine system, with the most observed at the concentration of 200 μg/L and 96 h exposure to methomyl. The results of this study provide valuable reference information on the potential damage of methomyl concentrations in the environment on fish embryo development, while also supplementing present research on the immunotoxicity of methomyl.

In situ digestion-assisted multi-template imprinted nanoparticles for efficient analysis of protein phosphorylation

A new general approach called in situ digestion-assisted multi-template imprinting is proposed for preparation of phospho-specific molecularly imprinted nanoparticles. Through the novel templating strategy and controllable imprinting process, imprinted nanoparticles specific to the intact phosphoprotein and its phosphopeptides were synthesized. The prepared imprinted nanoparticles exhibited excellent specificity (cross reactivity < 10%), high affinity (10-6 M), high efficiency (47.5%), and good generality (both intact phosphoprotein and phosphopeptides). We also realized the fine tuning of the recognition at peptide level of the imprinted nanoparticles by adjusting the imprinting time. Based on the selective enrichment of the imprinted nanoparticles, the MS identification of both the intact phosphoprotein (Tau) and phosphopeptides (angiotensin II and peptides of Tau) in real complex samples could be achieved. Therefore, we believe that the in situ digestion-assisted multi-template imprinting strategy holds promising future in both phosphorylation analysis and proteomics applications.

pH-Responsive epitope-imprinted magnetic nanoparticles for selective separation and extraction of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in traditional Chinese medicines

Chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid often coexist in traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and play roles as antioxidation, antiviral, antitumor and anti-inflammatory agents. Due to their low content and the presence of structural analogues, they cannot be effectively separated by conventional extraction methods. Molecularly imprinted polymers, as synthesized receptors with antibody-like binding properties, have significant advantages in separating structural analogues. However, the harsh imprinting conditions easily induced the degradation of chlorogenic acid. Therefore, caffeic acid was used as an epitope template to replace chlorogenic acid for imprinting. Boronic acid-functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were selected as substrates, which could not only facilitate the immobilization and removal of the templates by pH regulation, but also achieve rapid separation under an external magnetic field. Tetraethyl orthosilicate was selected as an imprinting monomer which allowed for precise control of the thickness of the imprinting layer by adjusting the imprinting time. The prepared epitope-imprinted MNPs showed excellent specificity, in combination with high performance liquid chromatography, have been successfully applied to the selective separation and detection of chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid in TCMs.

A selectivity-enhanced ratiometric fluorescence imprinted sensor based on synergistic effect of covalent and non-covalent recognition units for ultrasensitive detection of ribavirin

Development of methods with high selectivity and sensitivity for detection of trace ribavirin (RBV) is of great importance for environmental protection and food safety. Herein, we proposed a simple yet valid strategy to construct the highly selective ratiometric fluorescence sensing platform (BA-LMOFs@MIP) for analysis of RBV based on boric acid-functionalized lanthanide metal-organic framework (BA-LMOFs) coupled with molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP). In this strategy, BA-LMOFs featured with dual-emission and pH-responsive behavior were first synthesized as supporter. Benefiting from boric acid group of BA-LMOFs, RBV was easily immobilized onto its surface, taking advantage of template immobilization-based surface imprinting means to fabricate BA-LMOFs@MIP with dual recognition sites for the first time. The synergistic effect of covalent boronate affinity-based recognition unit and non-covalent imprinting sites enabled BA-LMOFs@MIP to exhibit superior selectivity and binding efficiency to RBV. BA-LMOFs as signal tag endowed BA-LMOFs@MIP with desirable sensitivity, photostability and hydrophilicity. More importantly, BA-LMOFs@MIP-based sensor displayed a wide linear range for RBV from 25 to 1200 ng mL^-1 with a detection limit down to 7.62 ng mL^-1. The sensor was finally applied to RBV determination in real samples, and the obtained results revealed that BA-LMOFs@MIP would be a promising candidate for monitoring of RBV in complex systems.