Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Proteins, enzymes, and antibodies have the ability to discern specific molecules out of a whole host of species and selectively bind them with remarkable affinity. A route that would enable the creation of synthetic polymers with this binding ability would be a great advance with subsequent applications in chemical sensors, single-molecule separations, and even artificial enzymes. In this work we study the molecular imprinting process whereby a controlled nanostructure consisting of distinct binding sites is created in a polymer network through a templating procedure. Simulations were done to better understand the underlying network structure that gives rise to the increased uptake. An all-atom molecular dynamics simulation was coupled with a kinetic gelation approach to study network formation in the presence of a template. The monomers used were first studied with density-functional theory in order to parameterize a force field for various methacrylates. Simulation results showed three key functional group interactions that lead to successful imprinting and subsequent rebinding.