Molecularly imprinted polymer film interfaced with Surface Acoustic Wave technology as a sensing platform for label-free protein detection

• A facile integration of protein-MIPs with SAW technology was firstly reported.
• IgG-MIP ultrathin films were interfaced with the multiplexed SAW chips by an electrosynthesis approach.
• The selectivity of IgG-MIP films toward IgG over IgA and HSA was demonstrated.

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based synthetic receptors integrated with Surface Acoustic Wave (SAW) sensing platform were applied for the first time for label-free protein detection. The ultrathin polymeric films with surface imprints of immunoglobulin G (IgG-MIP) were fabricated onto the multiplexed SAW chips using an electrosynthesis approach. The films were characterized by analyzing the binding kinetics recorded by SAW system. It was revealed that the capability of IgG-MIP to specifically recognize the target protein was greatly influenced by the polymer film thickness that could be easily optimized by the amount of the electrical charge consumed during the electrodeposition. The thickness-optimized IgG-MIPs demonstrated imprinting factors towards IgG in the range of 2.8–4, while their recognition efficiencies were about 4 and 10 times lower toward the interfering proteins, IgA and HSA, respectively. Additionally, IgG-MIP preserved its capability to recognize selectively the template after up to four regeneration cycles. The presented approach of the facile integration of the protein-MIP sensing layer with SAW technology allowed observing the real-time binding events of the target protein at relevant sensitivity levels and can be potentially suitable for cost effective fabrication of a biosensor for analysis of biological samples in multiplexed manner.

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