The Effect of Polymerization Techniques on the Creation of Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors and Their Application on Pharmaceutical Compounds

Abstract

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have become more prevalent in fabricating sensor applications, particularly in medicine, pharmaceuticals, food quality monitoring, and the environment. The ease of their preparation, adaptability of templates, superior affinity and specificity, improved stability, and the possibility for downsizing are only a few benefits of these sensors. Moreover, from a medical perspective, monitoring therapeutic medications and determining pharmaceutical compounds in their pharmaceutical forms and biological systems is very important. Additionally, because medications are hazardous to the environment, effective, quick, and affordable determination in the surrounding environment is of major importance. Concerning a variety of performance criteria, including sensitivity, specificity, low detection limits, and affordability, MIP sensors outperform other published technologies for analyzing pharmaceutical drugs. MIP sensors have, therefore, been widely used as one of the most crucial techniques for analyzing pharmaceuticals. The first part of this review provides a detailed explanation of the many polymerization techniques that were employed to create high-performing MIP sensors. In the subsequent section of the review, the utilization of MIP-based sensors for quantifying the drugs in their pharmaceutical preparation, biological specimens, and environmental samples are covered in depth. Finally, a critical evaluation of the potential future research paths for MIP-based sensors clarifies the use of MIP in pharmaceutical fields.

Keywords:

• Determination
• electrochemical sensor
• molecularly imprinted polymers
• pharmaceuticals

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Additional information

Funding

The authors would like to thank the support of the grant of Istanbul Technical University (Scientific Research Projects Unit) under TGA-2023-44021 project. Ahmet Cetinkaya thanks the financial support from the Council of Higher Education (YOK) under the special 100/2000 scholarship program and the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK) under the BIDEB/2211-A Ph.D. and ARDEB/1004 Ph.D. Scholarship Programs.