title: Surface Imprints: Advantageous Application of Ready2use Materials for Bacterial Quartz-Crystal Microbalance Sensors.
abstract: Four different materials (two ab initio synthesized polyurethanes; ready-to-use: Epon1002F and poly(vinyl alcohol)/N-methyl-4(4'-formylstyryl)pyridinium methosulfate acetal) for the generation of Escherichia coli surface imprints are compared in this work. The use of commercially available, ready-to-use materials instead of self-synthesized polymers represents an innovative and convenient way of molecular imprint fabrication. This was herein investigated for large, biological templates. Fully synthesized imprint materials (polyurethanes) were developed and optimized regarding their OH excess and the use of catalyst in the polymerization reaction. No to low OH excess (0-10%) and a noncatalyzed synthesis were determined to be superior for the imprinting of the Gram-negative bacteria. Imprints were characterized using atomic force microscopy, with Epon1002F yielding the most distinguished imprints, along with a smooth surface. The imprints were afterward tested as plastic antibody coatings in a mass-sensitive quartz-crystal microbalance measurement. Dilutions of E. coli suspensions, down to a limit of detection of 1.4 × 107CFU/mL, were successfully measured. Best results were obtained with Epon1002F and self-synthesized, stoichiometric polyurethane. Since ready-to-use Epon1002F was superior in terms of signal intensities and sensitivity, it can advantageously replace self-synthesized polymers for the generation of imprinted sensor surfaces. Easy day-to-day reproducibility and further shortening of imprint fabrication time are other advantages of employing the ready-to-use material instead of conventionally synthesized polymers.
authors.affiliation: AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
authors.forename: Anna-Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Poller
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty for Chemistry, University of Vienna , Währinger Straße 42, 1090 Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: Eva
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Spieker
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Chemistry, Faculty for Chemistry, University of Vienna , Währinger Straße 42, 1090 Wien, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Lieberzeit
authors.affiliation: AIT - Austrian Institute of Technology, Konrad-Lorenz-Straße 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0419-4255
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Preininger
mesh_terms: D015374:Biosensing Techniques; D004926:Escherichia coli; D054802:Molecular Imprinting; D011791:Quartz; D058525:Quartz Crystal Microbalance Techniques; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D011791:Quartz
keywords: QCM; bacterial sensor; imprinting; ready-to-use materials; surface MIP