Photodimerization of Anthryl Moieties in a Poly(methacrylic acid) Derivative as Reversible Cross-linking Step in Molecular Imprinting

A methodology for reversible molecular imprinting is presented. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is prepared by photo-cross-linking poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) with anthryl moieties as photo-cross-linking sites in the presence of an antimalarial drug cinchonidine as a template molecule, resulting in enhanced binding capacity to cinchonidine, compared with non-imprinted polymers. MIP is then “initialized” by exposure to shortwave UV that cleaves the anthracene-dimer-based cross-links, resulting in the reduced binding capacity comparable to the non-imprinted polymers.