Designing a molecularly imprinted polymer as an artificial receptor for the specific recognition of creatinine in serums

In this study, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) synthesized from two different functional monomers, β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and 4-vinylpyridine (4-Vpy), were prepared. The crosslinkers used for these two monomers were epichlorohydrin (EPI) and divinylbenzene (DVB), respectively. It was attempted to adsorb the target molecule, creatinine, from its mixture solutions. A proper molar ratio of monomer/crosslinker for the preparation of the imprinted poly(β-CD) was 1:10. Between both polymers mentioned above, the affinity of the imprinted poly(4-Vpy−co−DVB) towards creatinine was comparably superior. The imprinted poly(4-Vpy−co−DVB) for creatinine could reach a specific binding ratio of 3.11. The imprinted poly(4-Vpy−co−DVB) was further utilized to bind creatinine from human serum samples. The binding capacity of the imprinted poly(4-Vpy−co−DVB) for creatinine from the serum samples was plotted against the creatinine concentration. From the correlation, the feasibility of the imprinted poly(4-Vpy−co−DVB) thus prepared for the target analyte, creatinine, was experimentally confirmed.