Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Bearing Spiropyran-Based Photoresponsive Binding Sites Capable of Photo-Triggered Switching for Molecular Recognition Activity

作者：Murase Nobuo; Mukawa Takashi; Sunayama Hirobumi; Takeuchi Toshifumi^*

来源：Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics , 2016, 54(16): 1637-1644.

DOI：10.1002/polb.24066

• host-guest systems
• isomer/isomerization
• molecular imprinting
• molecular recognition
• stimuli-sensitive polymers

Photoresponsive molecularly imprinted nanocavities were prepared using a newly designed functional monomer bearing a photoresponsive spiropyran moiety with a carboxy group that can interact with atrazine (the template molecule), in which the spiropyran moiety was incorporated into the binding cavities. Spectrophotometric analysis confirmed that the spiropyran moiety was photoresponsive even after polymerization. The selectivity of the EDMA-based molecularly imprinted polymer (MIPEDMA) was tested to examine the binding behavior of atrazine and other agrochemicals, revealing that the atrazine-imprinted polymer can bind selectively to triazine herbicides. Photo-triggered switching of the binding activity in MIPEDMA was investigated, and the binding activity was found to decrease dramatically after UV light irradiation, suggesting that the spiropyran moiety in the binding cavities was transformed to the merocyanine form, resulting in unfavorable translocation of the carboxy group for atrazine binding. Consequently, the spiropyran-based MIPEDMA demonstrated in this study could open a way to realizing reliable photoresponsive smart materials.

• 出版日期2016-8-15