Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for cholesterolw ere successfullyc onstructedu sing a
combination of semi-covalent imprinting approach and nitroxide mediated radical polymerization.
Cholesteryl( 4-vinyl) phenyl carbonatew as firstly synthesizeda nd applied as a template-monomer
adduct. Nitroxide initiator, 3-(4-butylphenol)l-, l'-dimethyl-3- (2,2',6,6'-tetramethylpiperidinooxy)
propyl cyanide,w as synthesizeda nd addedt o the reactionm ixture to assistp olymerizationo f the
functionalm onomer( divinylbenzeneD; VB) in the vicinity of the templatem olecule. Subsequentto
polymerizationt,h e cholesteroml oleculew as hydrolyzedf rom the polymer matrix by refluxing in lM
NaOH and then neutralized with HCl. Binding capability of the MIP-H (hydrolyzed form) to
cholesterol was assessedb y radioligand binding analysis. Our results revealed that uptake of
cholesteroli nto the binding cavity of the MIP-H was estimatedt o be up to 6 and 3 times higher than
those of the unhydrolyzed form (MIP-UH) and control polymer (NIP-H), respectively. All these
findings have opened up a potential approach fbr a specific ligand recognition of biological
macromoleculesw, hich could constitutea notherp romisingt rendo f sensord evelopment.