Molecularly imprinted polymers as effective capturing receptors in a pseudo-ELISA immunoassay for procalcitonin detection in veterinary species

In this study, a new sandwich-type immunoenzymatic assay, based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as an artificial antibody (pseudo-ELISA), was developed for the determination of procalcitonin (PCT) in veterinary species. The quantification of PCT in human medicine represents the state of the art for the diagnosis of sepsis; instead the clinical studies on the relevance of PCT as a sepsis predictor in veterinary patients are few, likely due to the total absence of validated assays. MIPs have been widely used as antibody mimics for important applications, and MIP-based sandwich assays have emerged as promising analytical tools for the detection of disease biomarkers. Herein, a polynorepinephrine (PNE)-based imprinted film was directly synthesized on the well surface of a 96-well plate. Subsequently, based on a commercial ELISA kit, the PCT quantification was accomplished