Molecular Imprinting Technology (MIT) is a technique to design artificial receptors with a predetermined selectivity and specificity for a given analyte, which can be used as ideal materials in various application fields. Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs), the polymeric matrices obtained using the imprinting technology, are robust molecular recognition elements able to mimic natural recognition entities, such as antibodies and biological receptors, useful to separate and analyze complicated samples such as biological fluids and environmental samples. The scope of this review is to provide a general overview on MIPs field discussing first general aspects in MIP preparation and then dealing with various application aspects. This review aims to outline the molecularly imprinted process and present a summary of principal application fields of molecularly imprinted polymers, focusing on chemical sensing, separation science, drug delivery and catalysis. Some significant aspects about preparation and application of the molecular imprinting polymers with examples taken from the recent literature will be discussed. Theoretical and experimental parameters for MIPs design in terms of the interaction between template and polymer functionalities will be considered and synthesis methods for the improvement of MIP recognition properties will also be presented.

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Artículo de publicación ISIPhenolic compound content in Sorbus americana Marsh and Lonicera oblongifolia (Goldie) Hook berries was determined for the first time. An improved solid-liquid microextraction (SLME) method combining with highperformance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-diode array detector (DAD)-mass spectrometry (MS) has been developed to determine the phenolic compounds present in these berries, reducing the amount of sample, reagents, and time consumed. The major phenolic compound identified and quantified was 3-O-caffeoylquinic acid (3- CQA) in both berries. To a lesser extent, 5-Ocaffeoylquinic acid (5-CQA) and quercetin-3-O-glucoside (QG) were also determined. The existence of these phenolic compounds and the great abundance of these fruits in the northeast of North America make S. americana Marsh and L. oblongifolia Hook berries a new and excellent source of natural phenolic compounds (antioxidants), which can be very useful in biotechnological exploitation.Environmental Council of the Andalusia Regional Government P10 FQM 6185 Operative Program of Transboundary Cooperation Spain-Portugal 0434_I2TEP_5_E OLITRACE Agrifood Campus of International Excellence (CeiA3) MIUR (PRIN NANOMED) MIUR PONa3_00334 Fondecyt 315005

Molecularly imprinted microspheres obtained by precipitation polymerization using nicotinamide (nia) as template have been prepared and characterised by SEM. How various experimental parameters can affect microsphere morphology, reaction yield and re-binding capacity have been evaluated. Pre-polymerization interactions between template and functional monomer in chloroform and MeCN have been studied by 1H-NMR. The results suggest that the interaction between nia and methacrylic acid (MAA) is mainly based on hydrogen-bonding between amide protons and MAA. Computational density functional theory (DFT) studies on MAA-nia complexes have been also performed to better understand hydrogen-bonding interactions. The imprinted activity of the microspheres, synthesized in chloroform or acetonitrile (MeCN), has been evaluated by spectrophotometric analysis of nia solutions when chloroform or MeCN are used as incubation solvents. The results suggest that MeCN interferes with hydrogen bonding between template and MAA during either the polymerization step or re-binding process as also observed from theoretical results. Finally, the selectivity towards selected nia analogues has been also confirmed.

An important challenge for scientific research is the production of artificial systems able to mimic the recognition mechanisms occurring at the molecular level in living systems. A valid contribution in this direction resulted from the development of molecular imprinting. In this work, a novel molecularly imprinted polymer composite membrane (MIM) was synthesized and employed for the selective detection in urine samples of 2-deoxyadenosine (2-dA), an important tumoral marker. By thermal polymerization, the 2-dA-MIM was cross-linked on the surface of a polyvinylidene-difluoride (PVDF) membrane. By characterization techniques, the linking of the imprinted polymer on the surface of the membrane was found. Batch-wise guest binding experiments confirmed the absorption capacity of the synthesized membrane towards the template molecule. Subsequently, a time-course of 2-dA retention on membrane was performed and the best minimum time (30 min) to bind the molecule was established. HPLC analysis was also performed to carry out a rapid detection of target molecule in urine sample with a recovery capacity of 85%. The experiments indicated that the MIM was highly selective and can be used for revealing the presence of 2-dA in urine samples.

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Nicotinamide (NAM) is often added in fortified infant and various food products to ensure an adequate consumption of vitamin. Thus, a proper monitoring of NAM content in foods can be important. In this study, a selective molecularly imprinted polymer as sorbent for solid phase extraction of NAM in animal sources was successfully developed. The molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized by bulk polymerization technique. The performances of this polymer as sorbent were investigated in NAM standard solutions. One hundred milligrams of polymer was able to retain up to 244 lg of NAM with recovery >80% when chloroform was used as loading and washing solvent and ethanol as eluting solvent. Other solvent mixtures were also tested. The optimal molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction protocol was defined and used for the clean-up of NAM in pork liver samples. Moreover, the performances of the imprinted polymer were compared with that of nonimprinted polymer and with conventional reversed-phase C18 performances. Pork liver samples spiked with 49 lg mL À1 gave a good percentage of recovery of 87%, with relative standard deviation of 8% for imprinted polymer, whereas only 12% of recovery for nonimprinted polymer and 14% of recovery for reversed-phase C18 sorbent were found.