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Template-imprinted nanostructured surfaces for protein recognition

Nature volume 398, pages 593–597 (1999)Cite this article

Abstract

Synthetic materials capable of selectively recognizing proteins are important in separations1, biosensors2 and the development of biomedical materials3,4,5. The technique of molecular imprinting creates specific recognition sites in polymers by using template molecules6,7,8,9. Molecular recognition is attributed to binding sites that complement molecules in size, shape and chemical functionality10. But attempts to imprint proteins have met with only limited success11,12,13,14,15. Here we report a method for imprinting surfaces with protein-recognition sites. We use radio-frequency glow-discharge plasma deposition to form polymeric thin films16 around proteins coated with disaccharide molecules. The disaccharides become covalently attached to the polymer film, creating polysaccharide-like cavities that exhibit highly selective recognition for a variety of template proteins, including albumin, immunoglobulin G, lysozyme, ribonuclease and streptavidin. Direct imaging of template recognition is achieved by patterning a surface at the micrometre scale with imprinted regions.

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Figure 1: Protocol for template imprinting of proteins.
Figure 2: Surface elemental compositions measured by ESCA.
Figure 3: Competitive adsorption of a template protein versus a non-template protein was assayed by using a series of binary protein-mixture solutions.
Figure 4: Visual demonstration of template recognition by imprints of protein mixtures patterned with microcontact printing29,30.

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Acknowledgements

We thank T. A. Horbett, D. G. Castner, J. B. Lhoest and R. Luginbuhl for stimulating discussions, S. Golledge and I. Yu for assistance with ESCA and TOF-SIMS measurements, W. Ciridon for assistance in plasma deposition, K. Leach for help in contact angle measurement, and M. Sarikaya and H.K. Fong for access to the tapping mode AFM. This work was supported by NESAC/BIO(NIH) and UWEB(NSF). H.S. thanks the Center for Nanotechnology at the University of Washington for a fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Bioengineering, University of Washington, Box 351720, Seattle, 98195, Washington, USA

    Huaiqiu Shi, Wei-Bor Tsai, Michael D. Garrison & Buddy D. Ratner

  2. Ingengneria Dei Materiali, Universit Degli Studi Di Trento, Italy

    Sandro Ferrari

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Washington, Box 351750, Seattle, 98195, Washington, USA

    Buddy D. Ratner

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  1. Huaiqiu Shi
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Correspondence to Buddy D. Ratner.

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Shi, H., Tsai, WB., Garrison, M. et al. Template-imprinted nanostructured surfaces for protein recognition. Nature 398, 593–597 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/19267

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