TOWARDS MATERIALS FOR THE SPECIFIC RECOGNITION AND SEPARATION OF PROTEINS

The great biological and technological importance of proteins provides the incentive to develop new materials capable of selectively recogni zing them. This article describes several approaches we are taking to preparing receptors, or ''synthetic antibodies'', for proteins. These materials are characterized by a unique spatial arrangement of metal i ons that complement arrays of metal-coordinating functional groups on a macromolecular surface. The most general synthetic strategies are ba sed on template polymerization, or molecular imprinting, in which the target substrate acts as a template to position functional monomers in the polymer. The combined advantages of metal-coordination interactio ns and molecular imprinting are being used to prepare a variety of new materials for potential applications in protein separations, sensors, drug delivery and diagnostics.