Radiation Synthesis and Characterization of Cholesterol Molecularly Imprinted Polymer of Crosslinked Hydroxyethyl Methacrylate

Cholesterol-imprinted poly hydroxyethyl methacrylate (MIP) and non-imprinted polyhydroxyethyl methacrylate (NIP) have been prepared via polymerization by gamma radiation. The functional structure of the imprinted and non-imprinted polymers were characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), the spectrum showed that the HEMA interacts with cholesterol through H-bonds. The surface morphology of NIP and MIP were investigated by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and the MIP image appeared as a rough surface, while NIP had no pores. The specificity of MIP to interact with the print molecular was studied cholesterol and the results showed a higher cholesterol adsorption by MIP than that by NIP. This work approaches to design robust MIP to mimic natural recognition entities as adsorbed materials of cholesterol.