Molecular recognition of anionic species in aqueous environments

In this chapter I developed a number of polymer formats for removal of phospholipids, these included grafting polymers on glass surfaces and on polymer beads. The most practical and applicable was the simplest, C-18 silane attached to a glass surface, this material allowed for phospholipid removal from the sample and washing the surface with methanol allowed for complete removal of the phospholipids regenerating the surface for use again.<br><br>Chapter 5 then took the methods of surface functionalisation and applied it towards the selective removal of Circulating Tumour Cells (CTCs) from body fluids.

This chapter looked at incorporating size and shape selectivity, through surface macro-imprinting with polymer beads that acted as CTC mimics. Molecular recognition by grafting polymers designed to bind with the anionic cell surface from the dimpled surfaces found that different polymers bound different cell lines leading to an exciting possibility of introducing selectivity for CTCs from different cancer origins.