Molecularly imprinted nanoparticles with recognition properties towards a laminin H–Tyr–Ile–Gly–Ser–Arg–OH sequence for tissue engineering applications

Nanotechnology is an emerging field that promises to revolutionize medicine and is increasingly used in tissue engineering applications. Our research group proposed for the first time molecular imprinting as a new nanotechnology for the creation of advanced synthetic support structures for cell adhesion and proliferation. The aim of this work was the synthesis and characterization of molecularly imprinted polymers with recognition properties towards a laminin peptide sequence and their application as functionalization structures in the development of bioactive materials. Nanoparticles with an average diameter of 200 nm were synthesized by precipitation polymerization of methacrylic acid in the presence of the template molecule and trimethylpropane trimethacrylate as the cross-linking agent. The imprinted nanoparticles showed good performance in terms of recognition capacity and selectivity. The cytotoxicity tests showed normal vitality of C2C12 myoblasts cultured in the medium that was put in contact with the imprinted polymers. After the deposition on the polymeric film surface, the imprinted particles maintained their specific recognition and rebinding behaviour, showing an even higher quantitative binding than free nanoparticles. Preliminary in vitro cell culture tests demonstrated the ability of functionalized materials to promote cell adhesion, proliferation and differentiation, suggesting that molecular imprinting can be used as an innovative functionalization technique.