Recent advances in molecular imprinting technique based fiber optic biosensors

Abstract

Selectivity or specificity of the biosensors is one of the most important requirements. In recent years, molecular imprinting technique (MIT) has become very attractive for specific sensing of analyte because of its several advantages over the bio-receptors (antibodies and enzymes) that are being used. The advantages are better temperature stability, robustness, reproducibility, high affinity, and low cost in addition to the main advantage of selectivity. Surface plasmon resonance (SPR), localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR), lossy mode resonance (LMR), evanescent wave, fiber gratings and interferometry techniques have been widely exploited for optical sensing of analytes due to their high sensitivity. The integration of MIT with these optical techniques on optical fiber provides several advantages such as compact size, lightweight probe, online monitoring and remote sensing capability. In the last two decades, MIT based fiber optic biosensors have been developed using the aforementioned optical sensing techniques. In this review, we present recent advances in MIT based fiber optic biosensors utilizing various optical techniques. The underlying principles and applications of MIT for specific sensing and an update on recent findings and achievements have been discussed. In addition, the review includes the limitations, challenges and future directions of this technique.