Preparation of molecularly imprinted hydrogel layer SPR sensor chips with lectin-recognition sites via SI-ATRP

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted hydrogel layers with lectin-recognition sites were prepared on surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor chips via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) combined with molecular imprinting. The lectin-imprinted hydrogel layer sensor chips showed larger SPR signal change in response to a target lectin than nonimprinted hydrogel layer sensor chips. The larger SPR signal change was attributed to the strong affinity constant of the lectin-imprinted hydrogel layer for the target lectin. These results suggest that molecular recognition sites for the lectin were formed within the hydrogel layers by molecular imprinting. On the other hand, the SPR signal change of the lectin-imprinted hydrogel layer chip in the presence of other lectin was very small. Poly(2-methacryloxyethyl phosphorylcholine) as a main chain of the hydrogel layer inhibited nonspecific adsorption of other lectin. This paper describes that SI-ATRP with biomolecular imprinting is a useful method to design highly sensitive and selective SPR sensor chips with molecular recognition sites for a target lectin. Molecularly imprinted hydrogel layer SPR sensor chips with lectin-recognition sites, which were prepared via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (SI-ATRP) combined with molecular imprinting, exhibited not only large SPR signal change in response to a target lectin but also inhibited nonspecific protein adsorption.