Molecular Imprinting-Based Smart Nanosensors for Pharmaceutical Applications

Abstract Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are highly selective polymeric materials that mimic the shape-specific binding mechanism, which is found naturally occurring in the biological structures (i.e., 3-D binding site of an enzyme, or the glycoprotein recognition sites in antibodies). However, since they are designed and prepared from artificial polymers, MIPs display the same robustness and adaptability found in sensors constructed from artificial materials. MIPs as biomimetic recognition components efficiently combine the accuracy and highly specific binding affinity of a sensor system toward the target compound/s, with the great reusability and robustness. This chapter aims to highlight the recent advancements in the fabrication of novel molecularly imprinting-based smart nanosensors toward pharmaceutical compounds. The development strategies and techniques for these nanosensors, as well as their potential in the efficient recognition of the target pharmaceutical compounds in complex matrices are discussed. The future perspective of novel nanosensor systems based on molecular imprinting technology is also evaluated.