Abstract: Molecular imprinting, the technique of providing a surface that can recognize and bind a specific drug or a therapeutic substance, has an enormous potential to revolutionize the development and performance of DDSs. A number of enabling technologies for the manufacture of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) with target-specific cavities have been successfully developed. This has created opportunities for the designed structural polymers using knowledge of the chemistry of the template molecule that can provide other advantages, such as tailored predefined drug recognition systems with binding site functionality, allowing for precise control of drug release and delivery for an ever-growing number of pharmaceutical active agents. A strategic design can be served to meet the challenges of identifying recognition entities and specifically innovating in the required functionality, developing a diversity of different drug carriers and engineering delivery systems at the micro/nanometer scale. Combinatorial approaches have been developed, allowing optimization of potential combinations of materials with the specificity and efficacy of rationally designed molecular imprinted polymers. However there is still an urgent need to develop new ideas for creating the importance of the inherent properties of delivering drugs to desired sites and at appropriate speeds. Nevertheless advances in engineering nanoparticles, as well as advances in the mechanistic understanding of the molecular level of a synthetic recognitive-based network are creating opportunities for the development of artificial recognition nanoparticles for therapeutic applications. This review focuses on recent progress toward achieving the rational design of such polymeric materials, and discusses the challenges to realizing the potential of molecular imprinted microparticulate nanoparticles.
Template and target information: Review - MIPs in drug delivery
Author keywords: molecular imprinting, controlled release, Cancer drug delivery, self-assembly, nanotechnology