Electrochemical sensors based on molecularly imprinted chitosan: A review

Abstract Despite the enormous development of instruments for analyzing a wide variety of compounds, applied in different fields such as health, environment or quality control, the demand for increasingly sensitive and selective techniques continues to grow. In this regard, efforts have been made to highlight more appropriate techniques. Electrochemical sensors based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) offer an interesting alternative since they allow reaching high sensitivity and selectivity and they are inexpensive and easily adaptable to miniaturization. The choice of the functional monomer in the synthesis of MIPs is based on its capacity to provide complementary interactions with the target molecules. The various excellent properties of chitosan, as a biosourced polymer, make it a promising alternative to conventional functional monomers. This review reports on the principle of the MIPs technique describing the different possible approaches in their synthesis. It aims to provide an overview of the value of using chitosan as a functional monomer by highlighting its applications in electrochemical sensors.