Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) in Biomedical Applications

Within biological systems, these are usually dynamic and are the result of a mass of noncovalent interactions, which act collectively to form a very stable system. Molecular imprinting is a relatively new and rapidly evolving technique used to create synthetic receptors, having recognition properties comparable to the biological systems and it also possesses great potential in a number of applications in the life Sciences. Primarily, molecular imprinting aims to create artificial recognition cavities within synthetic polymers (Alvarez-Lorenzo & Concheiro, 2004; Ramström & Ansell, 1998; Mosbach & Ramström, 1996). It is a relatively simple concept, which involves the construction of sites of specific