Polymer brush-grafted monolithic macroporous polyHIPEs obtained by surface-initiated ARGET ATRP and heparinized for Enterovirus 71 purification

Monolithic macroporous polymerized high internal phase emulsions (polyHIPEs) were grafted with poly(glycidyl methacrylate) (PGMA) brushes via surface-initiated activators continuously regenerated by electron transfer atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET ATRP) and heparinized for obtaining an affinity chromatographic column for Enterovirus 71 (EV71) purification. The proposed strategy possessed of three advantages. (a) Highly interconnected porous structure of polyHIPEs guaranteed an excellent permeability (9.3 × 10⁻¹⁴ m²) and fast mass transfer of biomacromolecules; (b) PGMA brushes provided plentiful epoxy groups for heparin immobilization; (c) High accessibility of heparin was achieved as the polymer brushes could extend into the interior of pores. A specific capture of EV71 was accomplished by receptor-ligand interaction. Dynamic adsorption capacity for EV71 reached 768 ng per column, up to 5-fold higher than nongrafted one reported in our previous work. The maximum recovery for EV71 was 76.1%. Outstanding adsorption performances were attributed to the high density and accessibility of heparin immobilized on PGMA brushes. In general, the developed polymer brush-grafted polyHIPEs opened up a new broad road for design of novel chromatographic medium for bioseparation and biomedical applications.