HIGHLY POROUS POLYMERIC MATERIALS COMPRISING BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE MOLECULES VIA COVALENT GRAFTING

摘要

The present invention relates to highly porous polymeric materials comprising covalently grafted biologically active species. The invention also relates to a process for the preparation of highly porous materials comprising functional monomers capable of grafting to a biologically active molecular species comprising the steps of: (a) preparing an emulsion composition comprising a droplet phase and a continuous phase and containing monomers, (b) curing the emulsion and (c) optionally removing the water/droplet phase. The invention further relates to a process for grafting biologically active species to such a highly porous polymeric material comprising the steps of: (i) exposing the highly porous material to a solution of the biologically active species in a suitable solvent medium, (ii) optionally adding an activating agent, (iii) optionally heating, and (iv) rinsing the porous material with solvent medium to remove non-grafted species. The highly porous polymeric materials comprising covalently grafted biologically active species can be used e.g. as a heterogeneous catalyst, in biosensors, for chromatography, in biomedical devices and in implants.