A facile strategy to prepare the core–shell magnetic imprinted nanoparticles for specific recognition of
protein is presented. The core is carboxyl-modified Fe3O4 nanoparticles (Fe3O4@COOH) synthesized
directly through a simple one-pot hydrothermal method. The formation of imprinted shell with specific
recognition cavities includes three steps. Initially, the protein template is non-covalently anchored on
Fe3O4@COOH. Next, the chemical oxidation of 3-aminophenylboronic acid takes place on the surface of
Fe3O4@COOH-protein complex for further immobilization of template protein. Then, a thin imprinted
layer is obtained on Fe3O4@COOH after the removal of the template protein. The resultant imprinted
materials not only exhibit good dispersibility, uniform surface morphology, super-paramagnetic property,
but also possess fast kinetics, high capacity, as well as favorable selectivity. In addition, the assynthesized
polymers could be used for six cycles of adsorption–desorption without obvious deterioration
and applied to specifically separate and enrich target protein from real biological sample successfully.
Furthermore, the result of versatility indicates that the facile preparation method is more
suitable for basic proteins.