Fabrication and characterization of thin film molecularly imprinted polymers.

摘要

Molecularly imprinted polymers are artificial networks designed to have many selective binding sites that are suitable for various applications. In order to develop more of these systems, the fabrication and characterization of imprinted polymers has become a significant area of study in recent years. Though there are several ways to fabricate imprinted polymers, the focus of this study was on a modified phase inversion procedure. A polymer and target of interest were dissolved together in a casting solvent, and then thin film imprinted polymer systems were created via spin coating. Main characterization methods included infrared spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and nanoindentation. Before nanoindentation could be used to study the desired imprinted polymer systems, a protocol for testing was determined. Two different series of templates were examined in this study of imprinted polymers.;The first series of templates investigated were the carbohydrates fructose, glucose, and maltose. Imprinted polymer films were made using poly(4-vinylphenol) as the polymer host. The surfaces of these carbohydrate imprinted films were examined, and the successful removal of the template was observed. Some advances were made toward reinserting the carbohydrate template molecules, though the system could be optimized further. Quantification of reinsertion was possible through a chemical assay. Additionally, the solvent N,N-dimethylformamide was used for the fabrication of these imprinted polymers and was found to be an extremely good porogen.;The second series of templates investigated were aromatic compounds, primarily methyl 4-nitrobenzoate. Imprinted polymer films were made using both SaranRTM F-310 and poly(4-vinylphenol) as the polymer hosts. Removal of the template was successful, but some difficulties were found in the reinsertion process. Rather than focus on the reinsertion of methyl 4-nitrobenzoate, a study was made of the surface morphologies of aromatic templates with differing functionalities. Computational studies were also performed with both template systems to study the polymer/template interactions. Hydrogen bonding interactions were found for both template systems.