Peptide Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles: A Plastic Antibody

J. Amer. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 15242—15243

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/21603/

Synthetic polymer nanoparticles with nanomolar affinity for the honey bee venom melittin have been synthesized using a precipitation-imprinting protocol. The nanoparticles are capable of neutralizing melittin’s toxicity even in a complex biological milieu.

Schematic representation of the melittin imprinting process

Hydrophobic, positive/negative charged, and hydrophilic residues are colored in brown, blue/red, and green.

Interaction between polymer NPs and Mel and plasma proteins observed by a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) in water

(a) Schematic of QCM experiments to monitor interactions between NIP/MIP (left/right) NPs and Mel immobilized on QCM electrode. (b) Representative time course of the frequency change (ΔF) of melittin immobilized on a 27 MHz QCM following injection of NIP 14 and MIP 9 solutions. Solutions of NIP (black line) and MIP (gray line) were injected at the time points indicated by the black and gray arrows into the QCM cell.