The ability of Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) to perform analyte specific recognition has encouraged the further development of these polymers. This ability is dependent on polymer surface—template molecule interactions upon the preparation of these MIPs through the process of molecular imprinting; in which target molecules act as a template and are copolymerized with cross-linking monomers to form pores or cavities. Upon removal of these template molecules through washing, the polymer is left with an affinity for these molecules to which they can be reattached. The effectiveness of these polymers also depends on this affinity, along with the morphology of the polymer surface. In this study, the binding affinity for the template molecule will be studied with respect to the porogen and solvent in methacrylic acid imprinted polymer on silicon wafer substrates. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) is used to observe the changes in surface features of these polymers at different stages of preparation and sum frequency generation (SFG) is used to correlate what is observed through AFM. It was observed using AFM that the topography of the non-molecularly imprinted polymers (NIPs) was significantly smoother than MIPs, having an RMS value of ~(247.6pm). MIPs with both sulfapyridine and metronidazole template molecules have shown significant aggregates before washing—which signifies presence of the template molecule. After washing, significant change in surface features are observed, such as changes in topography and morphology of the sample surfaces—which signifies the removal of these template molecules. These findings were also confirmed through SFG.

Synthesizing and optimizing molecularly imprinted polymers

ACS Spring 2022

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