Title: Nanostructured molecularly imprinted polymer films as synthetic recognition layers

Authors: F. Vandevelde, J. Pantigny, I. Pezron, L.A. Gheber, K. Haupt

Addresses: UMR CNRS 6022, Compiegne University of Technology, BP 20529, 60205 Compiegne Cedex, France. ' UMR CNRS 6022, Compiegne University of Technology, BP 20529, 60205 Compiegne Cedex, France. ' UMR CNRS 6067, Compiegne University of Technology, BP 20529, 60205 Compiegne Cedex, France. ' Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, P.O. Box 653, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel. ' UMR CNRS 6022, Compiegne University of Technology, BP 20529, 60205 Compiegne Cedex, France

Abstract: Hierarchically nanostructured materials that combine two or more levels of structure and exhibit a combination of useful features have gained considerable interest. We describe the generation of surface-bound nanofilaments by nanomoulding on a nanoporous template surface that carry at the same time molecularly imprinted binding sites. Fluorescein was used as a model template for imprinting. The surfaces exhibited specific binding of fluorescein as revealed by fluorescence microscopy. Contact angle and ESEM measurements revealed that surface wetting properties are fine-tunable depending on the polymer and on the nanostructuring. We believe that these materials can potentially be very useful for applications such as biosensors and biochips.

Keywords: molecular imprinting; synthetic receptor; thin films; surface wetting; molecular recognition; nanostructures; NSOM; nanotechnology; nanofilaments; nanomoulding; nanoporous surfaces; biosensors; biochips.

DOI: 10.1504/IJNT.2008.018695

International Journal of Nanotechnology, 2008 Vol.5 No.6/7/8, pp.757 - 768

Published online: 14 Jun 2008 *

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