Synthesis of Monodispersed Submillimeter-Sized Molecularly Imprinted Particles Selective for Human Serum Albumin Using Inverse Suspension Polymerization in Water-in-Oil Emulsion Prepared Using Microfluidics

We synthesized monodispersed submillimeter-sized (100 μm–1 mm) microgels by inverse suspension polymerization of water-soluble monomer species with a photoinitiator in water-in-oil (W/O) droplets formed by the microchannel. After fundamental investigations of the selection of suitable surfactants, surfactant concentration, and flow rate, we successfully prepared monodispersed submillimeter-sized W/O droplets. Because radical polymerization based on thermal initiation was not appropriated based on colloidal stability, we selected photoinitiation, which resulted in the successful synthesis of monodispersed submillimeter-sized microgels with sufficient colloidal stability. The microgel size was controlled by the flow rate of the oil phase, which maintained the monodispersity. In addition, the submillimeter-sized microgels exhibit high affinity and selective binding toward HSA utilizing molecular imprinting. We believe the monodispersed submillimeter-sized molecularly imprinted microgels can be used as affinity column packing materials without any biomolecules, such as antibodies, for sample pretreatment to remove unwanted proteins without a pump system.