CHAPTER 8: Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-based Optical Chemosensors for Selective Chemical Determinations

Molecular imprinting is able to provide essential analyte recognition without the limitations of biomolecules. These human-made materials have emerged as artificial sensing units for the development of optical sensors, potentially replacing antibodies, enzymes or other biological receptors. They are characterized by low production costs, stability, format adaptability and the possibility to imprint, and thus the ability to recognize, a wide variety of target molecules. MIP-based chemosensors can be interrogated using different optical techniques including UV-vis, infrared, fluorescence, chemiluminescence, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) or surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. This chapter summarizes the main developments and applications of MIPs in the area of optical sensors, with special emphasis on their analytical applications over the past five years.