Towards personalised bioarchaeology: Molecularly imprinted polynorepinephrine for the detection of amelogenin in human teeth

Amelogenins (AMG) are crucial for sexing archaeological human and animal remains, yet standard Mass Spectrometry analysis is often complex and costly. To address these issues, a simple and effective digestion-free protein extraction protocol from mg-sized enamel powder samples was established. LC-MS/MS enabled the characterisation and semi-quantification of modern and archaeological human enamel extracts, supporting the development of an easy-to-use, cost-effective biosensing tool for detecting AMG. We present an innovative approach to imprint mimetic receptors based on Molecularly Imprinted Polynorepinephrine able to detect and bind full-length AMG from standard solutions and AMG residues from enamel extracts. Expanding upon single Epitope Imprinting, an original "Finger-Imprint" (FI) approach was attempted by directly imprinting the whole protein extracts from human dental enamel. The biomimetic receptor was coupled with Surface Plasmon Resonance and Bio-Layer Interferometry platforms to assess imprinting efficiency, kinetic rates and affinity parameters of the system towards the target protein. The successful results prove the effectiveness of the FI-based biomimetic receptor, which was specifically tailored to the extract and requires a quick and simple preparation involving bio-compatible reagents.