A novel protein imprinted polymer was prepared using acryloyl-beta-cyclodextrin (beta-CD) and acrylamide as monomers on the surface of silica gel. The bovine hemoglobin was used as template and beta-CD was allowed to self-assemble with the template protein through hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction. Polymerization was carried out in the presence of acrylamide as an assistant monomer, which resulted in a novel protein imprinted polymer. After removing the template, imprinted cavities with the shape and spatial distribution of functional groups were formed. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) cytochrome c (Cyt) and lysozyme (Lyz) were employed as non-template proteins to test the imprinting effect and the specific binding of bovine hemoglobin to the polymer. The results of the adsorption experiments indicated that such protein imprinted polymer, which was synthesized with beta-CD and acrylamide as monomers, could selectively recognize the template protein. (C) 2009 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.