Molecular imprinting science and technology: a survey of the literature for the years 2004-2011

Herein, we present a survey of the literature covering the development of molecular imprinting science and technology over the years 2004-2011. In total, 3779 references to the original papers, reviews, edited volumes and monographs from this period are included, along with recently identified uncited materials from prior to 2004, which were omitted in the first instalment of this series covering the years 1930-2003. In the presentation of the assembled references, a section presenting reviews and monographs covering the area is followed by sections describing fundamental aspects of molecular imprinting including the development of novel polymer formats. Thereafter, literature describing efforts to apply these polymeric materials to a range of application areas is presented. Current trends and areas of rapid development are discussed.

Bio-mimetic sensors based on molecularly imprinted membranes

An important challenge for scientific research is the production of artificial systems able to mimic the recognition mechanisms occurring at the molecular level in living systems. A valid contribution in this direction resulted from the development of molecular imprinting. By means of this technology, selective molecular recognition sites are introduced in a polymer, thus conferring it bio-mimetic properties. The potential applications of these systems include affinity separations, medical diagnostics, drug delivery, catalysis, etc. Recently, bio-sensing systems using molecularly imprinted membranes, a special form of imprinted polymers, have received the attention of scientists in various fields. In these systems imprinted membranes are used as bio-mimetic recognition elements which are integrated with a transducer component. The direct and rapid determination of an interaction between the recognition element and the target analyte (template) was an encouraging factor for the development of such systems as alternatives to traditional bio-assay methods. Due to their high stability, sensitivity and specificity, bio-mimetic sensors-based membranes are used for environmental, food, and clinical uses. This review deals with the development of molecularly imprinted polymers and their different preparation methods. Referring to the last decades, the application of these membranes as bio-mimetic sensor devices will be also reported.

Disposable terbium (III) salicylate complex imprinted membrane using solid phase surface fluorescence method for fast separation and detection of salicylic acid in pharmaceuticals and human urine

In this work, a simple, low cost, selective and sensitive complex imprinted membrane (CIM) for solid-phase fluorescent detection was developed with terbium (III) salicylate as complex template. Terbium-sensitized luminescence was employed for monitoring salicylic acid (SA) based on the fluorescence enhancement effect of benzoic acid derivatives on lanthanide ion Tb (III). The resulting CIM showed good fluorescent response and high selectivity towards SA with Tb as pivot in protic solvents, while demonstrating better analytical performance than the controlled membranes. The optimized adsorption time was 10 min, indicating rapid kinetics of the imprinted membrane. The linear response of CIM to SA was from 0.20 to 10mg/L with limit of detection (LOD) of 0.040 mg/L. The prepared CIM was successfully applied to the analysis of salicylic acid in pharmaceuticals and spiked human urine with recoveries of 80.6%-88.1%. The analytical results of the proposed method were in good agreement with those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, indicating that the developed membrane has acceptable practicability for fast determination of SA in real samples.

Molecularly imprinted membranes

Although the roots of molecularly imprinted polymers lie in the beginning of 1930s in the past century, they have had an exponential growth only 40-50 years later by the works of Wulff and especially by Mosbach. More recently, it was also proved that molecular imprinted membranes (i.e., polymer thin films) that show recognition properties at molecular level of the template molecule are used in their formation. Different procedures and potential application in separation processes and catalysis are reported. The influences of different parameters on the discrimination abilities are also discussed.