Efficient preparation of surface imprinted magnetic nanoparticles using poly (2-anilinoethanol) as imprinting coating for the selective recognition of glycoprotein.

In view of the significance of glycoprotein biomarkers for early clinical diagnostics and treatments of diseases, it is essential to develop efficient and selective enrichment approaches for glycoproteins. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have found important applications for separation and enrichment of glycoproteins. In this study, we use boronate affinity-based controllable oriented surface imprinting to prepare glycoprotein-imprinted magnetic nanoparticles. A glycoprotein was first immobilized onto the surface of boronic acid functionalized magnetic nanoparticles by boronate affinity. Subsequently, self-polymerization of 2-anilinoethanol was carried out to form thin imprinting coating on the magnetic nanoparticles surface with appropriate thickness. After removing the template with an acidic solution containing sodium dodecyl sulfate, 3D cavities complementary to the template were efficiently formed in the imprinting layer. The imprinting coating was highly hydrophilic and presented limited residual boronic acid, thus non-specific binding was avoided. Using horseradish peroxidase as a model target, the effects of imprinting conditions on the properties and performance of the prepared MIPs were investigated. The obtained MIPs exhibited several highly favorable features, including excellent specificity, high binding strength and low binding pH. The MIPs were successfully applied to the analysis of transferrin (TRF) in human serum.