TY - JOUR A1 - Kislenko, Evgeniia A1 - Incel, A. A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Sellergren, B. A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Towards molecularly imprinted polymers that respond to and capture phosphorylated tyrosine epitopes using fluorescent bis-urea and bis-imidazolium receptors N2 - Early detection of cancer is essential for successful treatment and improvement in patient prognosis. Deregulation of post-translational modifications (PTMs) of proteins, especially phosphorylation, is present in many types of cancer. Therefore, the development of materials for the rapid sensing of low abundant phosphorylated peptides in biological samples can be of great therapeutic value. In this work, we have synthesised fluorescent molecularly imprinted polymers (fMIPs) for the detection of the phosphorylated tyrosine epitope of ZAP70, a cancer biomarker. The polymers were grafted as nanometer-thin shells from functionalised submicron-sized silica particles using a reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerisation. Employing the combination of fluorescent urea and intrinsically cationic bis-imidazolium receptor cross-linkers, we have developed fluorescent sensory particles, showing an imprinting factor (IF) of 5.0. The imprinted polymer can successfully distinguish between phosphorylated and non-phosphorylated tripeptides, reaching lower micromolar sensitivity in organic solvents and specifically capture unprotected peptide complements in a neutral buffer. Additionally, we have shown the importance of assessing the influence of counterions present in the MIP system on the imprinting process and final material performance. The potential drawbacks of using epitopes with protective groups, which can co-imprint with targeted functionality, are also discussed. KW - Functional monomers KW - Molecularly imprinted polymers KW - Phosphorylated peptides KW - Fluorescence KW - Core-shell particles PY - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-588089 SN - 2050-750X SP - 1 EP - 10 PB - Royal Society of Chemistry CY - Cambridge AN - OPUS4-58808 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - CONF A1 - Sun, Yijuan A1 - Pérez-Padilla, Víctor A1 - Valderrey, Virginia A1 - Bell, Jérémy A1 - Gawlitza, Kornelia A1 - Rurack, Knut T1 - Fluorescence Detection of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylic Acids with a Miniaturised Assay N2 - Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of man-made organo-fluorine chemicals that have become environmental contaminants of emerging concern, originating from a variety of materials such as adhesive, stain- and oil-resistant coatings, firefighting foams, etc. The high strength of this C-F bond makes PFAS thermodynamically stable and resistant to (bio)degradation, thus retaining them in the environment over time. Perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), one category of the most used PFAS, consist of a fully fluorinated carbon backbone and a charged carboxylic acid headgroup, and have been classified as Substances of Very High Concern (SVHC) and added to the REACH Candidate List due to their persistence in the environment, non-biodegradability and toxicological effects.[1-2] Traditional techniques for the analysis of PFCAs include GC-MS, HRMS and HPLC-based approaches, which are laborious, not portable, costly and require trained personnel. In contrast, fluorescence assays can be designed as easy-to-operate, portable and cost-effective methods with high sensitivity and fast response. Integration of fluorescent probes with an adequately miniaturized assay enables a promising alternative for PFCAs analysis. Here, a novel guanidine fluorescent probe has been synthesized and fully characterized for the detection of PFCAs in a biphasic extract-&-detect assay. The fluorescent probe was then incorporated into polymeric matrices supported by a red dye-doped SiO2 nanoparticle to construct a dual-emission sensing platform. Such a system allows precise and selective detection of PFCAs, reducing the interference of competitors, matrix effects and other factors except for the PFCAs. The system was then employed in a droplet-based microfluidic setup which offers a portable and easy to operate detection platform. T2 - IMA 2023 CY - Chania, Greece DA - 18.09.2023 KW - PFAS KW - MIP KW - Fluorescence KW - Microfluidics KW - Fluorezsenz KW - Mikrofluidik PY - 2023 AN - OPUS4-58527 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -