Molecularly imprinted cryogels for chondroitin sulfate recognition.

Chondroitin sulfate (Cs)-imprinted poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-based macroporous cryogels (CsMIP) were prepared for selective recognition of Cs from an aqueous solution. The selective binding sites for Cs were maintained using vinyl imidazole-Cu(2+) functional groups, during the precomplexation step in the polymerization procedure. Newly synthesized CsMIP cryogel columns were characterized. The separation of Cs from aqueous solutions was studied, both in the continuous system and in the fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) system. According to the FPLC studies, the Rs value obtained was 14.72, which shows that the CsMIP cryogel column can successfully separate Cs from aqueous solutions of Cs in the presence of competitor molecules.