Microreactor-Based Synthesis of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Beads Used for Explosive Detection

In situ synthesis and dynamic simulation of molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles on a micro-reactor system

Current practices in synthesizing molecularly imprinted polymers face challenges-lengthy process, low-productivity, the need for expensive and sophisticated equipment, and they cannot be controlled in situ synthesis. Herein, we present a micro-reactor for in situ and continuously synthesizing trillions of molecularly imprinted polymeric nanoparticles that contain molecular fingerprints of bovine serum albumin in a short period of time (5-30 min). Initially, we performed COMSOL simulation to analyze mixing efficiency with altering flow rates, and experimentally validated the platform for synthesizing nanoparticles with sizes ranging from 52-106 nm. Molecular interactions between monomers and protein were also examined by molecular docking and dynamics simulations. Afterwards, we benchmarked the micro-reactor parameters through dispersity and concentration of molecularly imprinted polymers using principal component analysis. Sensing assets of molecularly imprinted polymers were examined on a metamaterial sensor, resulting in 81% of precision with high selectivity (4.5 times), and three cycles of consecutive use. Overall, our micro-reactor stood out for its high productivity (48-288 times improvement in assay-time and 2 times improvement in reagent volume), enabling to produce 1.4-1.5 times more MIPs at one-single step, and continuous production compared to conventional strategy.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymeric Particles Created Using Droplet-Based Microfluidics: Preparation and Applications

Recent years have witnessed increased attention to the use of droplet-based microfluidics as a tool for the fabrication of microparticles due to this method's ability to exploit fluid mechanics to create materials with a narrow range of sizes. In addition, this approach offers a controllable way to configure the composition of the resulting micro/nanomaterials. To date, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) in particle form have been prepared using various polymerization methods for several applications in biology and chemistry. However, the traditional approach, that is, the production of microparticles through grinding and sieving, generally leads to poor control over particle size and distribution. Droplet-based microfluidics offers an attractive alternative for the fabrication of molecularly imprinted microparticles. This mini-review aims to present recent examples highlighting the application of droplet-based microfluidics to fabricate molecularly imprinted polymeric particles for applications in the chemical and biomedical sciences.

Molecular imprinting science and technology: a survey of the literature for the years 2004-2011

Herein, we present a survey of the literature covering the development of molecular imprinting science and technology over the years 2004-2011. In total, 3779 references to the original papers, reviews, edited volumes and monographs from this period are included, along with recently identified uncited materials from prior to 2004, which were omitted in the first instalment of this series covering the years 1930-2003. In the presentation of the assembled references, a section presenting reviews and monographs covering the area is followed by sections describing fundamental aspects of molecular imprinting including the development of novel polymer formats. Thereafter, literature describing efforts to apply these polymeric materials to a range of application areas is presented. Current trends and areas of rapid development are discussed.

3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane-functionalized manganese doped ZnS quantum dots for room-temperature phosphorescence sensing ultratrace 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene in aqueous solution

New strategies for silica coating of inorganic nanoparticles became a research hotspot for enhancing the mechanical stability of colloidal particles and protecting colloidal particles against oxidation and agglomeration, and so on. In this paper, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)-functionalized Mn doped (AF MnD) ZnS QDs was prepared to be firsyly through the use of silane coupling agents to form an active layer of silica, then sol-gel reaction of TEOS co-deposited with APTES on the surface of resultant active layer of silica. The emitted long lifetime room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) of the resultant nanomaterials allows an appropriate delay time so that any fluorescent emission and scattering light can be easily avoided. The APTES anchored on the layer of silica can bind 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) species to form TNT anion through acid-base pairing interaction, the TNT anion species may increase the charge-transfer pathways from the nanocrystals to nitroaromatic analytes, therefore further enhance the quenching efficiency of RTP. Moreover, APTES as capped reagents can enlarge the spectral sensitivity and enhance RTP response of nanocrystals to the electron-deficient nitroaromatic and nitrophenol species. Meanwhile, AF MnD ZnS QDs also exhibited a highly selective response toward TNT analyte through significant color change and quenching of (4)T(1) to (6)A(1) transition emission. This AF MnD ZnS QDs based sensor showed a very good linearity in the range of 0.05-1.8μM with detection limit down to 50 nM (quenching percentage of phosphorescence intensity of 8%) and RSD of 3.5% (n=5). The reported QDs-based chemosensors here open up a promising prospect for the sensitive and convenient sensing of TNT explosive.