Oxytocin-Selective Nanogel Antibody Mimics

Abstract

Oxytocin imprinted polymer nanoparticles were synthesized by glass bead supported solid phase synthesis, with NMR and molecular dynamics studies used to investigate monomer-template interactions. The nanoparticles were characterized by dynamic light scattering, scanning- and transmission electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Investigation of nanoparticle-template recognition using quartz crystal microbalance-based studies revealed sub-nanomolar affinity, <i>k_d</i> ≈ 0.3 ± 0.02 nM (standard error of the mean), comparable to that of commercial polyclonal antibodies, <i>k_d</i> ≈ 0.02-0.2 nM.