•Endowing protein-imprinted nanoparticles with reversible physical cross-links..•The formation of the physical cross-links favored template recognition.•Disruption of the physical cross-links facilitated template removal.•This may be a versatile strategy for protein imprinting.Researches on protein molecularly imprinted polymers have been challenged by the difficulties in facilitating biomacromolecular transfer, in particular upon the template removal step, and enhancing their recognition performance. Addressing these issues, herein we report synthesis of core–shell structured surface protein-imprinted nanoparticles with reversible physical cross-links formed in the imprinted nanoshells. The imprinted layers over nanoparticle supports are fabricated via aqueous precipitation polymerization (PP) of di(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (MEO2MA), a thermo-responsive monomer bearing no strong H-bond donor, and other functional and cross-linking monomers. During polymerization, physical cross-links together with chemical cross-links are in site produced within the imprinted shells based on hydrophobic association among the PMEO2MA, favoring formation of high-quality imprints. While cooled appropriately below the polymerization temperature, these physical cross-links can be dissociated rapidly, thus facilitating removal of the embedded template. For proof of this concept, lysozyme-imprinted nanoparticles were synthesized at 37 °C over the nanoparticles functionalized with carboxylic and vinyl groups. The template removal from the imprinted nanoparticles was readily achieved by washing with a dilute acidic detergent solution at 4 °C. As-prepared imprinted nanoparticles showed greatly higher imprinting factor and specific rebinding than obtained with the same recipe but by solution polymerization (SP). Moreover, such imprinted nanomaterials exhibited satisfactory rebinding selectivity, kinetics and reusability.

Molecular imprinting is a promising way for constructing artificial protein recognition materials, but it has been challenged by difficulties such as restricted biomacromolecule transfer in the cross-linked polymer networks, and reduced template-monomer interactions that are due to the required aqueous media. Herein, we propose a strategy for imprinting of histidine (His)-exposed proteins by combining previous approaches such as surface imprinting over nanostructures, utilization of metal coordination interactions, and adoption of aqueous precipitation polymerization capable of forming reversible physical crosslinks. With lysozyme as a model template bearing His residues, imprinted polymer nanoshells were grafted over vinyl-modified nanoparticles by aqueous precipitation copolymerization of a Cu2+ chelating monomer with a temperature-responsive monomer carried out at 37 °C, above the volume phase-transition temperature (VPTT) of the final copolymer. The imprinted nanoshells showed significant temperature sensitivity and the template removal could be facilitated by swelling of the imprinted layers at 4 °C, below the VPTT. The resultant core–shell imprinted nanoparticles exhibited strikingly high rebinding selectivity against a variety of nontemplate proteins. An imprinting factor up to 22.7 was achieved, which is among the best values reported for protein imprinting, and a rather high specific binding capacity of 67.3 mg/g was obtained. Moreover, this approach was successfully extended to preliminary imprinting of hemoglobin, another protein with accessible His. Therefore, it may be a versatile method for fabrication of high-performance surface-imprinted nanoparticles toward His-exposed proteins.Keywords: aqueous precipitation polymerization; His-exposed proteins; metal coordination; nanoparticles; protein imprinting; reversible physical cross-links; surface imprinting

•Great improvement of the recently proposed method.•Facile tuning the imprinted layer thickness by varying crosslinking degrees.•Effectively maximizing the imprinting efficacy by varying crosslinking degrees.•Rather high imprinting factor and specific binding, and rapid binding kinetics.Surface imprinting over nanosized support materials is particularly suitable for protein templates, considering the problems with mass transfer limitation and low binding capacity. Previously we have demonstrated a strategy for surface protein imprinting over vinyl-modified silica nanopartiles with lysozyme as a model template by polymerization in high-dilution monomer solution to prevent macrogelation. Herein, the synthesis process was further studied toward enhancement of the imprinting performance by examining the effect of several synthesis conditions. Interestingly, the feed crosslinking degree was found to have a great impact on the thickness of the formed imprinting polymer layers and the recognition properties of the resulting imprinted materials. The imprinted particles with a crosslinking degree up to 50% showed the best imprinting effect. The imprinting factor achieved 2.89 and the specific binding reached 23.3 mg g−1, which are greatly increased compared to those of the lowly crosslinked imprinted materials reported previously. Moreover, the relatively high crosslinking degree led to no significant retarding of the binding kinetics to the imprinted particles, and the saturated adsorption was reached within 10 min. Therefore, this may be a promising method for protein imprinting.

Submicrometer-sized magnetite colloid nanocrystal clusters (MCNCs) provide a new avenue for constructing uniformly sized and highly magnetic composite submicrospheres. Herein, a facile and eco-friendly method is described for the synthesis of Fe3O4@poly(acrylic acid) (PAA)/chitosan (CS) core–shell submicrospheres using MCNCs bearing carboxyl groups as the magnetic cores. It is based on the self-assembly of positively charged CS chains on the surface of the oppositely charged MCNCs dispersed in the aqueous solution containing acrylic acid (AA) and a cross-linker N,N′-methylenebis(acrylamide) (MBA), followed by radical induced cross-linking copolymerization of AA and MBA along the CS chains. The resulting polymer shell comprises a medium shell of cross-linked PAA/CS polyelectrolyte complexes and an outer shell of protonated CS chains. It was found that the shell thickness could be tuned by varying either the concentration of radical initiator or the molar ratio of AA to aminoglucoside units of CS. To the surface of thus obtained Fe3O4@PAA/CS particles, Au nanoparticles, a variety of functional groups such as fluorescein, carboxyl, quaternary ammonium, and aliphatic bromide, and even functional polymer chains were successfully introduced. Therefore, such Fe3O4@PAA/CS submicrospheres may be used as versatile magnetic functional scaffolds in biorelated areas like bioseparation and medical assay, considering the unique features of CS like nontoxicity and biocompatibility.

Surface molecular imprinting, in particular over nanosized support materials, is very suitable for a template of bulky structure like protein. Inspired by the surface template immobilization method reported previously, we herein demonstrate an alternative strategy for enhancing specific recognition of core−shell protein-imprinted nanoparticles through prefunctionalizing the cores with noncovalent template sorption groups. For proof of this concept, silica nanoparticles chosen as the core materials were modified consecutively with 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane and maleic anhydride to introduce polymerizable double bonds and terminal carboxyl groups, hence capable of physically adsorbing the print protein. With lysozyme as a template, thin protein-imprinted shells were fabricated according to our newly developed approach for surface protein imprinting over nanoparticles. The rebinding experiments confirmed that the introduction of the carboxyl groups could remarkably improve the imprinting effect in relation to a significantly increased imprinting factor and specific rebinding capacity. Moreover, in contrast to the harsh template removal conditions required for the covalent template coupling approach, the template removal during the imprinted particle synthesis as well as desorption after rebinding could be mildly achieved via washing with salt solution.

In this letter, N-acryloyl-3-aminophenylboronic acid (AAPBA) was synthesized and then examined as a new functional monomer for protein imprinting. It was allowed to be copolymerized with acrylamide to produce hemoglobin- or lysozyme-imprinted hydrogels. In template rebinding tests, the imprinted gels showed significant increase in the specific binding with the increase of the AAPBA amounts in the prepolymerization recipes. These results indicate that AAPBA may be a useful functional monomer for its moderate interactions with protein molecules.

Surface imprinting and adopting a nano-sized physical form are two effective approaches to overcome the template transfer difficulty within molecularly imprinted polymers and in particular advantageous to the imprinting of macromolecular structures like proteins. The surface protein-imprinted nanoparticles based on these two strategies are attractive for biosensor development. We here demonstrate a facile way for imprinting protein over nanoparticle supports. It was achieved simply via radical induced graft copolymerization of low concentration monomers on the surface of vinyl modified silica nanoparticles dispersed in aqueous media with lysozyme as a model protein. With a total monomer concentration of 0.4 wt%, less than tenth that employed conventionally, the possible gelation of the dispersion after polymerization was avoided and hence the unagglomerated imprinted particles could be readily collected. It was proved that thin polymer shells with imprinted sites had been formed over the support particles. In batch rebinding tests, the imprinted particles reached saturated adsorption within 5 min and exhibited significant specific recognition toward the template protein. The presented approach may be a versatile way for the fabrication of surface protein-imprinted nanoparticles via rational design of the surface chemistry of the support particles and choice of functional monomers according to the properties of the print protein.