Substitution of antibodies and receptors with molecularly imprinted polymers in enzyme-linked and fluorescent assays

A new technique for coating microtitre plates with molecularly imprinted po lymers (MIP), specific for low-molecular weight analytes (epinephrine, atra zine) and proteins is presented. Oxidative polymerization was performed in the presence of template; monomers: 3-aminophenylboronic acid (APBA), 3-thi opheneboronic acid (TBA) and aniline were polymerized in water and the poly mers were grafted onto the polystyrene surface of the microplates. It was f ound that this process results in the creation of synthetic materials with antibody-like binding properties. It was shown that the MIP-coated micropla tes are particularly useful for assay development. The high stability of th e polymers and good reproducibility of the measurements make MIP coating an attractive alternative to conventional antibodies or receptors used in enz yme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.