Abstract
The general claim about novel molecularly imprinted polymers is that they are selective for their template or for another target compound. This claim is usually proved by some kind of experiment, in which a performance parameter of the imprinted polymer is shown to be better towards its template than towards interferents. A closer look at such experiments shows, however, that different experiments may differ substantially in what they tell about the same imprinted polymer’s selectivity. Following a short general discussion of selectivity concepts, the selectivity of imprinted polymers is analyzed in batch adsorption, binding assays, chromatography, solid phase extraction, sensors, membranes, and catalysts. A number of examples show the problems arising with each type of application. Suggestions for practical method design are provided.
Highlights
Molecular imprinting has turned into a broad research area in the last decades [1,2,3,4,5]
There are around 1000 papers published on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) every year, and this figure appears to exceed the publication intensity of many other fields
The present study shows that the concept of MIP selectivity is not so simple, and that the selectivity of the same MIP depends on the particular experiment and the application for which the MIP is employed
Summary
Molecular imprinting has turned into a broad research area in the last decades [1,2,3,4,5]. Adsorption experiments with MIPs have led many researchers to the conclusion, that most MIPs, and the non-covalently imprinted ones (which represent the majority of MIPs) have heterogeneous binding sites. Some of these sites bind the template more strongly than others. Lacking a firm mechanistic base for explaining MIP selectivity, one may treat selectivity phenomenologically This may seem to be an easy task: one needs merely to compare the behavior of the MIP towards its template and an interfering compound, respectively. Typical applications of MIPs will be presented, and the differences in the concept and in the characterization of selectivity in these domains will be demonstrated
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