Molecularly imprinted polymer-based sensors for identification volatile compounds in pharmaceutical products: in silico rational design

Abstract

The present study aimed to strategically design a Molecularly Imprinted Polymer (MIP) with selective extraction capabilities for volatile compounds found in pork. These specific volatile compounds, such as 3-methyl-1-butanol, 1-nonanal, octanal, hexanal, 2-pentyl-furan, 1-penten-3-one, N-morpholinomethyl-isopropyl-sulfide, methyl butyrate, and (E,E)-2,4-decadienal, are primarily responsible for the distinctive aroma and flavor characteristics associated with pork. Molecular dynamics simulations were employed to investigate the stability of the pre-polymerization system, simulating the interactions between the volatile compounds as templates, 4-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) as monomers, and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as crosslinkers. Computational simulations revealed that the optimal mole ratio of 1:4:20 for templates, monomers, and crosslinkers resulted in the most favorable functional radial distribution and exhibited the strongest interactions. To validate the computational findings, additional analyses were performed utilizing Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM-PBSA), radial distribution function (RDF), and hydrogen bond (HBond) occupancy. The calculated binding free energy demonstrated that all template molecules were capable to bind with both the monomers and crosslinkers, including 1-penten-3-one and N-morpholinomethyl-isopropyl-sulfide displaying the strongest interactions, with values of −12,674 kJ/mol and −11,646 kJ/mol, respectively. The congruence between the results obtained from the molecular simulation analyses highlights the crucial role of molecular dynamics simulations in the study and development of MIP for the analysis of marker compounds present in pork.

Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Keywords:

• Volatile compounds
• molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)
• molecular dynamics simulations
• pharmaceutical products
• in silico design

Author contributions

T.M.F. conceived and designed the experiments (methodology), analyzed the data, and corrected manuscript. T.M.F. also contributed with resources, funding acquisition, and supervision. The author have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Acknowledgments

The author thanks the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) Universitas Islam Bandung, for the research financially supported by the Penelitian Dosen Pemula (PDP) 2022, No.008/B.04/LPPM/I/2023.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

APC was funded by the Institute for Research and Community Service (LPPM) Universitas Islam Bandung.