Development of magnetic molecular imprinted polymer systems for biomedical applications

In recent years, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have received increasing attention due to their unique characteristics such as high stability, simple preparation, robustness, specificity in molecule capture, and low cost of production. The molecular imprinting approach has allowed the development of promising systems to be used both in environmental applications for capture of pollutants [1], and in biomedical field for drug administration, to remove undesirable substances from the body or as diagnostic sensors [2]. MIPs can also be combined with different nanomaterials such as silica (SiO2), iron oxide (Fe3O4), gold (Au) and silver (Ag) to produce multifunctional composite systems with improved properties [3]. Moreover, the functionalization with small molecules may make MIPs a powerful tool for drug delivery. In this work, innovative magnetic MIPs for ciprofloxacin (CPR) delivery were developed. CPR, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic of second-generation having activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative microorganisms, is frequently used for treating bacterial infections. We developed a nanostructured magnetic composite system consisting of an inorganic core (Fe3O4 nanoparticles) and 2 polymeric shells, the first composed of chitosan (CS) to avoid nanoparticle aggregation phenomena, and the second of a molecular imprinted acrylic polymer. While the magnetic nanoparticles were chosen for their easy recovery through the application of a magnetic field, and for relatively low manufacturing costs relatively low, CS was preferred for its biocompatibility, good antimicrobial activity, and good absorbent capacity [4]. To obtain the MIP system an in situ polymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA) with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as a crosslinking agent and CPR as template were used. Particularly, different concentrations of MAA, EDGMA and CPR were investigated. Finally, to evaluate the effectiveness of nanostructured magnetic MIPs, non-imprinted systems (NIPs) were also produced. UV-vis spectroscopic analysis highlighted the greater ability of imprinted systems compared to NIPs to bind CPR. Biological tests are underway to verify the possible application of these systems in drug release.