Synthesis strategies to bring molecularly imprinted polymers closer to applications

Molecular imprinting into polymers has been extensively researched for around four decades. Interestingly, this has led to only a limited number of materials that are fit for applying them in real-life conditions. In part, the reason for this lies in the statistical nature of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), especially when they result from free radical polymerization (FRP). This review summarizes advances in tackling those issues focusing on the last five years: it introduces different polymerization techniques for synthesizing thin films and nanoparticles, respectively, and compares them with each other with respect to their properties in binding assays and/or sensors. It hence covers different controlled radical polymerizations (CRP) and electropolymerization approaches to obtain thin films as well as synthesis approaches for MIP nanoparticles both in homogeneous solution and on the solid phase.