Book title: Immunochemical Technology for Environmental Applications
Editors: Aga DS, Thurman EM
Publisher: The American Chemical Society
City: Washington DC
Series title: ACS Symposium Series
Volume number: 657
Abstract: Molecular imprinting technology has recently been applied to the analysis of environmentally-important compounds. Molecularly- imprinted polymers (MIPs) are formed by synthesizing polymers in the presence of a ''print molecule'', which is usually the analyte of interest or a closely-related structure. After polymerization, the print molecule is removed resulting in an ''imprint'' of the molecule. MIPs can be used as specific binding matrices for a variety of analytical applications. The most common application for MIPs have been as solid-phase adsorbents for HPLC. Recently, these MIPs have been employed as specific receptors in competitive ligand binding assays such as the Molecularly-Imprinted Sorbent Assay (MIA). MIPs have been incorporated into membranes for use in sensor applications. Finally, MIPs have been used as solid phase extraction materials in the preparation of complex biological samples for residue analysis. This paper reviews the process of MIP synthesis, the basis for analyte-MIP recognition, and current applications of the technology for residue analysis