Hydrophilic cholesterol-binding molecular imprinted polymers

Novel hydrophilic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared using acryloyl-containing hydrophilic monomers (including cholesteryl acrylate (CA) and acryloyl-6-amino-6-deoxy-β (or γ)-cyclodextrin), and their steroid-binding properties were analyzed in 2-PrOH by HPLC. The MIPs bound 38–50 μmol of cholesterol/g, while the corresponding nonimprinted control polymers (containing no CA) bound only 6–9 μmol cholesterol/g. The sterol-binding selectivity was illustrated with estrone, which was bound by MIPs in the range 5–36 μmol/g.