Photoreactor and Process for Preparing MIP Nanoparticles

A process for producing nanoparticles of molecularly imprinted polymers comprising:

• (i) immobilising a template species on a solid support to provide a supported template material;
• (ii) locating the supported template material in a reaction vessel having one or more flow inlets, one or more flow outlets, a cooler/heater adapted to affect the temperature of the vessel's contents, and a radiation source adapted to irradiate the vessel's interior;
• (iii) passing a polymerisable composition into the vessel through one or more of said flow inlets;
• (iv) causing the radiation source to irradiate the vessel's interior to effect controlled polymerisation of the polymerisable composition, while using the cooler/heater to control the temperature thereof;
• (v) ceasing irradiation at a stage when polymerisation has generated nanoparticles with molecular weights in the range 500-1,000,000 Da, at least some of the nanoparticles being bound to the immobilised template;
• (vi) passing solvent through the vessel via one or more of said inlets and one or more of said outlets to wash out unreacted components of the polymerisable composition and unbound polymers;
• and
• (vii) passing solvent through the vessel via one or more of said inlets and one or more of said outlets under conditions such that at least some of said bound nanoparticles are separated from the immobilised template and passed out of the vessel to a collection vessel, said conditions comprising one or more of increased temperature produced by the cooler/heater, and use of a solvent composition that is able to disrupt binding of nanoparticles to template.