Molecular imprinting

Molecular imprinting is a technique to create template-shaped cavities in polymer matrices with predetermined selectivity and high affinity.

In recent decades, the molecular imprinting technique has been developed for use in drug delivery, separations, biological and chemical sensing, and more.

The imprinted molecule also displays a homogenous distribution of binding sites, increasing the stability of the template-polymer complex.

[7] However, there are a few number of compounds that can be used to imprint with template molecules via covalent bonding, such as alcohols, aldehydes and ketones, all of which have high formation kinetics.

[10][11] In some cases, the rebinding of the polymer matrix with the template can be very slow, making this approach time inefficient for applications that require fast kinetics, such as chromatography.

[12][13] Another way to alternate the non-covalent interaction between the template molecule and polymer is through the technique ‘bite and switch’ developed by Professor Sergey A. Piletsky and Sreenath Subrahmanyam.

[14][15] Ionic imprinting, which involves metal ions, serves as an approach to enhance template molecule and functional monomer interaction in water.

[19] Moreover, chromatography techniques such as HPLC and TLC can make use of MIPs as packing materials and stationary phases for the separation of template analytes.

In the biopharmaceutical market, separation of amino acids, chiral compounds, hemoglobin, and hormones can be achieved with MIP adsorbents.

Methods to utilize molecular imprinting techniques for mimicking linear and polyanionic molecules, such as DNA, proteins, and carbohydrates have been researched.

Large, water-soluble biological macromolecules have posed a difficulty for molecular imprinting because their conformational integrity cannot be ensured in synthetic environments.

[21] However, a critical review of molecular imprinting of proteins by scientists from Utrecht University found that further testing is required.

[24] In comparison with natural receptors, MIPs also have higher chemical and physical stability, easier availability, and lower cost.