Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Center for Agroforestry, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65211, USA.
Mikrochim Acta. 2022 Apr 2;189(5):174. doi: 10.1007/s00604-022-05290-w.
A label-free molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor was fabricated for the detection of progesterone in aqueous solutions, by polymerization inside the void spaces of colloidal crystals, which gave them photonic properties. The prepolymerization mixture was prepared from acrylic acid as the functional monomer, ethylene glycol as the cross-linker agent, ethanol as solvent, and progesterone as the imprinted template. After polymerization, the colloidal crystal was removed by acid etching and the target eluted with a solvent. Material characterization included as follows: attenuated total reflectance-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering, swelling experiments, and environmental scanning electron microscopy. MIPs were investigated by equilibrium binding, kinetics experiments, and UV-visible spectra to investigate Bragg diffraction peak shift that occurs with the rebinding at different progesterone concentrations in deionized water and 150-mM NaCl solutions. The MIP response was investigated with progesterone concentration in the 1-100 μg L range, with LOD of 0.5 μg L, reaching the detected range of hormone in natural waters. Furthermore, hydrogel MIP films were successfully tested in various real water matrices with satisfactory results. Moreover, the MIP film exhibited good selectivity toward the progesterone hormone evidenced by a larger response than when exposed to structurally similar molecules. Computational studies suggested that size along with surface potential influenced the binding of analog compounds. Due to their ease of use and low cost, the sensors are promising as screening tools for the presence of progesterone in aqueous samples.
一种无标记的分子印迹聚合物（MIP）传感器是通过在胶体晶体的空隙内聚合来制备的，从而赋予其光子特性，可用于水溶液中孕酮的检测。预聚合混合物由丙烯酸作为功能单体、乙二醇作为交联剂、乙醇作为溶剂和孕酮作为印迹模板制备而成。聚合后，通过酸刻蚀去除胶体晶体，并用溶剂洗脱目标物。材料特性包括：衰减全反射-傅里叶变换红外光谱、动态光散射、溶胀实验和环境扫描电子显微镜。通过平衡结合、动力学实验和紫外可见光谱研究 MIP，以研究在去离子水和 150-mM NaCl 溶液中不同孕酮浓度下的重新结合时布拉格衍射峰的位移。MIP 响应在 1-100μg L 的孕酮浓度范围内进行了研究，LOD 为 0.5μg L，达到了天然水中激素的检测范围。此外，水凝胶 MIP 薄膜在各种实际水样中进行了成功测试，结果令人满意。此外，MIP 薄膜对孕酮激素表现出良好的选择性，其响应大于暴露于结构相似分子时的响应。计算研究表明，大小和表面电位会影响类似化合物的结合。由于其易于使用和低成本，这些传感器有望成为水样品中孕酮存在的筛选工具。
