Separation/enrichment of the low-content high molecular weight natural protein using protein-imprinted polymers with ARPCs

We introduce a new method for separation/enrichment of the low-content cellular protein in high molecular weight on the basis of molecular imprinting. The template protein, bacterial cloned immunoglobulin binding protein (BiP), was selectively assembled with assistant recognition polymer chains (ARPCs) from their library, which consists of numerous limited length polymer chains with randomly distributed recognition and immobilizing sites. The assemblies of proteins and ARPCs were adsorbed by porous polymeric beads and immobilized by cross-linking polymerization. After the template was removed, the synthesized imprinted polymer was used to adsorb authentic BiP from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) extract, and its proportional content was enriched 45 times. It is the first time that the low-content cellular natural protein, whose molecular weight reaches 78 kDa, is enriched by molecular imprinting.