Preparation of imprinted poly(tetraethoxysilanol) sol–gel for the specific uptake of creatinine

A sol–gel inorganic polymer matrix modified with the ability to imprint creatinine molecules was synthesized and investigated for the specific uptake of creatinine from different mixture solutions. The sol–gel was prepared from the poly-condensation of the inorganic monomer, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The synthesized sol–gel matrix was named creatinine imprinted poly(tetraethoxysilanol). To characterize and confirm the imprinted sol–gel, the results obtained from the scanning electron micrograph (SEM) and the solid state 29Si NMR spectra were analyzed. The adsorption profiles were also obtained from the imprinted sol–gel under various solvent environments. Water was proved to be a very effective solvent for the specific binding of creatinine by the imprinted sol–gel. An imprinting factor of 7.18 ± 0.05 was achieved. The specific uptake of creatinine by the imprinted sol–gel was investigated by carrying out adsorption experiments in creatinine mixture solutions. N-Hydroxysuccinimide and 2-pyrrolidinone as creatinine's analogues and creatine as the metabolite in the presence of serum were used to form various mixture solutions for the binding task. The selectivity of creatinine in the various mixture solutions by the imprinted materials was obtained.