synthesis and characterization of silica nano particles-based imprinted polymers for detection of herpes simplex virus type 1 in human plasma

Background and objectives: molecularly imprinted polymers (mips) are polymers designed to selectively recognize specific molecules or related compounds. they are created using template molecules, which are later removed, leaving behind cavities tailored to the template's structure. this study aimed to synthesize mips for detecting hsv-1 suspended in human plasma.materials and methods: for synthesizing silica nanoparticles and virus-imprinted particles, the stöber and sol-gel methods were employed to detect hsv-1 in human plasma. moreover, ultra-sonication for washing and removal of hsv-1 from vip, and fesem were used to determine the shape, size, and characteristics of the synthesized particles. additionally, dls was used to confirm the size of particles. mtt assay was employed for cell viability, and tcid50/ml was used for measuring infectious viral titer. real-time pcr as a molecular assay for virus genome quantification was applied.results: the average size of gold-coated freeze-dried snps and vips was analyzed by fesem, and the results were 332 and 390 nm, respectively. dls results showed an average size of 362, 521, and 648 nm for snps, vips, and nips. the vip cavity size was 156 nm, which was specific for hsv-1. the real-time pcr confirmed the removal of hsv-1.conclusion: the imprinted particles could specifically bind to hsv-1.