Recognition of protein biomarkers using epitope-mediated molecularly imprinted films: Histidine or cysteine modified epitopes?

Abstract This research aims to engineer molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-based synthetic receptors for the molecular recognition of neuron specific enolase (NSE) biomarker. The synthetic peptide derived from the NSE was synthesized along with its cysteine and histidine modified versions. The modified peptides were utilized as templates for molecular imprinting, which was achieved by combination of epitope- and electrochemical surface imprinting strategy. The subsequently generated imprinted cavities were used for the detection of the NSE derived peptide and NSE. The imprints created with cysteine (CME) and histidine modified epitopes (HME) could detect the peptide in a concentration range of 2–128 µM and 15.6 nM to 128 µM, respectively. The recognition of NSE was achieved by the same imprints in a linear range of 1–64 ng mL−1 (CME) and 0.25–64 ng mL−1 (HME), respectively. The target molecules bound to the control polymer very weakly, confirming the high selectivity of the MIP cavities. Selectivity studies resulted in imprinting factors of 8.8 and 11 for the CME and HME imprints, respectively. The affinity analyses provided dissociation constants of 2.3 × 10−10 M and 3 × 10–11 M for NSE recognition using the corresponding epitope imprints. Cross-reactivity studies with non-specific molecules proved high specificity of the artificial receptors for the targets. Highlights • First epitope-mediated MIPs synthesized for neuron specific enolase biomarker. • Two different epitope imprinting approaches using cysteine- and histidine-modified peptides. • Highly specific and sensitive electrochemical sensors were manufactured with epitope imprints. • CV, SWV and AFM were employed to reveal template-MIP interactions. • This universal and promising strategy can be employed for a wide range protein markers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]