Validation of a smartphone-compatible MIP-based sensor for bisphenol A determination in wastewater samples.

A handheld smartphone-compatible molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based sensor was developed for the analysis of bisphenol A (BPA) in wastewater samples. Sensing elements based on ethylene glycol methacrylate phosphate (EGMP)-containing MIP films were designed and optimized using molecular dynamics simulations. The highly porous MIP films were synthesized via in situ polymerization, employing a fragment-based approach.

Design of smart nanoparticles for the electrochemical detection of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine to allow in field screening by law enforcement officers.

A portable and highly sensitive sensor was designed for the specific detection of 3,4-methyl-enedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA), in a range of field-testing situations. The sensor can detect MDMA in street samples, even when other controlled substances drugs, or adulterants are present. In this work, we report for the first time a sensor using electroactive molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles computationally designed to recognize MDMA and then produced using solid phase synthesis.

Modulation of EGFR Activity by Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Nanoparticles Targeting Intracellular Epitopes.

In recent years, molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nanoMIPs) have proven to be an attractive alternative to antibodies in diagnostic and therapeutic applications. However, several key questions remain: how suitable are intracellular epitopes as targets for nanoMIP binding? And to what extent can protein function be modulated via targeting specific epitopes? To investigate this, three extracellular and three intracellular epitopes of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) were used as templates for the synthesis of nanoMIPs which were then used to treat cancer cells with different expression levels of EGFR. It was observed that nanoMIPs imprinted with epitopes from the intracellular kinase domain and the extracellular ligand binding domain of EGFR caused cells to form large foci of EGFR sequestered away from the cell surface, caused a reduction in autophosphorylation, and demonstrated effects on cell viability.

A Biomimetic Polymer for the Extraction and Purification of Superior Analogues of Amphotericin B.

Amphotericin B has been an essential drug in the fight against leishmaniasis and fungal pathogens for decades, and has more recently gained attention for the very limited microbial resistance displayed against it. However, its toxicity has restricted its use to only the most severe cases of disease, and attempts to reduce these ill effects via formulation have had only minor success. Genetic engineering has allowed the development of superior amphotericin analogues, notably 16-descarboxyl-16-methyl amphotericin B (MeAmB), which shows a ten-fold reduction in toxicity in addition to a slight improvement in therapeutic activity.

Analysis of Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 8 (AAV8)-antibody complexes using epitope mapping by molecular imprinting leads to the identification of Fab peptides that potentially evade AAV8 neutralisation.

Gene therapy is a promising approach for treating genetic disorders by delivering therapeutic genes to replace or correct malfunctioning genes. However, the introduced gene therapy vector can trigger an immune response, leading to reduced efficacy and potential harm to the patient. To improve the efficiency and safety of gene therapy, preventing the immune response to the vector is crucial.