Abstract
Molecular imprinted polymers are custom made materials with specific recognition sites for a target molecule. Their specificity and the variety of materials and physical shapes in which they can be fabricated make them ideal components for sensing platforms. Despite their excellent properties, MIP-based sensors have rarely left the academic laboratory environment. This work presents a comprehensive review of recent reports in the environmental and biomedical fields, with a focus on electrochemical and optical signaling mechanisms. The discussion aims to identify knowledge gaps that hinder the translation of MIP-based technology from research laboratories to commercialization.
Highlights
The mechanism for the specific recognition of antibodies and antigens, enzymes and substrates, hormones and receptors inspired the development of synthetic materials that mimic nature’s ability to selectively capture chemical species from complex mixtures [1]
These limitations can be partially overcome in the semi-covalent imprinting, in which covalent bonds are formed between the monomer and the template and non-covalent interactions arise between the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and the analyte [4,62]
The search for better sensitivity and selectivity has driven significant research in the field of materials science and engineering, and many sensors have been reported with diverse nanomaterials and sophisticated manufacturing processes
Summary
The mechanism for the specific recognition of antibodies and antigens, enzymes and substrates, hormones and receptors inspired the development of synthetic materials that mimic nature’s ability to selectively capture chemical species from complex mixtures [1]. Larger molecules with many functional groups require different specific bonds to achieve a desirable affinity and to prevent non-specific binding; a combination of monomers may be selected: a neutral one as the backbone, along with another that is charged, hydrophobic, or capable of developing hydrogen bonds for constructing the imprinted cavities [58]. Two limitations may arise: first, if the MIP is placed in a polar solvent, the interactions between the template and the functional monomer can be disrupted; and second, if the target molecule has only one point of interaction, the recognition properties are limited [59] These limitations can be partially overcome in the semi-covalent imprinting, in which covalent bonds are formed between the monomer and the template and non-covalent interactions arise between the MIP and the analyte [4,62]. The process parameters most commonly adjusted are the applied voltage, potential pulse duration or potential sweep rate (cycling), and the electrical current [63]
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