Date of Award

2008

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MSc)

Department

Molecular Science

First Advisor

Christopher Evans

Abstract

The technique of molecular imprinting creates template specific and selective polymer products with a large assortment of applications. For example, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) may pose as a means to separate undesirable components, such as endocrine disruptors, from the environment. Taking advantage of β-cyclodextrin's abililty to form inclusion complexes with a number of guests has led scientists to use them as scaffolds in the synthesis of MIPs. Komiyana's approach of molecularly imprinting cholesterol with β-cyclodextrin was used as a starting point to apply MIPs as potential tools for trapping endocrine disruptors. This study presents results on the re-binding of cholesterol to a cholesterol-templated MIP and to a non-MIP (NMIP), as well as the binding of a series of structurally unrelated compounds to the cholesterol-templated MIP and NMIP. The results consistently show that cholesterol-templated MIPs synthesized using Komiyama's method lack specificity and selectivity for their template. This calls into question their efficacy as a tool for trapping endocrine disruptors.


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