Monomer-template assemblies stabilisation

Also of considerable importance is the mechanism of site formation. At what stage in the polymerisation are the high energy sites formed and stabilised Does the solution structure of the monomer-template assemblies reflect the disposition of functional groups at the binding sites [24] (See Chapter 5 for a further discussion.) Attempts to correlate the association constants determined for the monomer-template interactions in homogeneous solution with the rebinding association... 

It is of obvious importance that the functional monomers strongly interact with the template prior to polymerisation, since the solution structure of the resulting assemblies presumably defines the subsequently formed binding sites. By stabilising the monomer-template assemblies it is possible to increase the number of imprinted sites. At the same time the number of non-specific binding sites will be minimised, since there will be a reduction in the amount of free, non-associated functional monomer. For any particular template, the following factors that are likely to affect the recognition properties of the site have been identified (Fig. 5.14). 

An important part of the optimisation process is the stabilisation of the monomer-template assemblies by thermodynamic considerations (Fig. 5.17). The... 

Fig. 5.17. Stabilisation of monomer template assemblies by thermodynamic considerations.

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