Novel Biodegradable Molecularly Imprinted Polymers Based on Poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate)

Novel biodegradable molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) based on poly(3‐hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) were prepared and characterized. Low molecular weight PHB diol was prepared from bacterial PHB, and was used to synthesize acrylate end‐capped PHB macromer. The synthesis of hydroxyl‐telechelic PHB and acrylate end‐capped macromer was confirmed using FT‐IR and 1 H NMR. PHB macromer was used to prepare biodegradable crosslinked networks by photopolymerization with functional monomer (methacrylic acid) and a model template (theophylline). The theophylline‐imprinted polymer showed higher binding capacity for theophylline than non‐imprinted polymer (NIP). The data of theopylline binding into the theopylline‐imprinted polymer correlated well with the Scatchard plot. The equilibrium binding constant ( K E ) and the total number of bound sites of MIP ([PS] total ) were 7.1 × 10 3 M −1 and 18.5 µmol/g, respectively, which were estimated from the negative slope and intercept in the Scatchard plot.