Recent Advances in Electrosynthesized Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensing Platforms for Bioanalyte Detection

Abstract

The accurate detection of biological materials has remained at the forefront of scientific research for decades. This includes the detection of molecules, proteins, and bacteria. Biomimetic sensors look to replicate the sensitive and selective mechanisms that are found in biological systems and incorporate these properties into functional sensing platforms. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are synthetic receptors that can form high affinity binding sites complementary to the specific analyte of interest. They utilise the shape, size, and functionality to produce sensitive and selective recognition of target analytes. One route of synthesizing MIPs is through electropolymerization, utilising predominantly constant potential methods or cyclic voltammetry. This methodology allows for the formation of a polymer directly onto the surface of a transducer. The thickness, morphology, and topography of the films can be manipulated specifically for each template. Recently, numerous reviews have been published in the production and sensing applications of MIPs; however, there are few reports on the use of electrosynthesized MIPs (eMIPs). The number of publications and citations utilising eMIPs is increasing each year, with a review produced on the topic in 2012. This review will primarily focus on advancements from 2012 in the use of eMIPs in sensing platforms for the detection of biologically relevant materials, including the development of increased polymer layer dimensions for whole bacteria detection and the use of mixed monomer compositions to increase selectivity toward analytes.

Molecularly Imprinted Polymers and Surface Imprinted Polymers Based Electrochemical Biosensor for Infectious Diseases

“…Other monomers used in MIPs/SIPs synthesis include sulphonic acids (e.g., 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulphonic acid), carboxylic acids (e.g., acrylic acid, vinylbenzoic acid), and heteroaromatic bases (e.g., vinylpyridine, vinylimidazole) were summarized by Choi and coworkers [33]. Typically, electropolymerizable monomers for the preparation of MIPs/SIPs were highlighted by Crapnell and coworkers [50]. MAA, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), dimethylamino ethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA), and polyamine (PA) are usually used for bacteria imprinting to improve the recognition affinity for bacteria [30].…”

“…The layer thickness can be controlled easily. The high-affinity binding sites can be formed by direct doping of templates into the polymer matrix [50]. Usually, the thickness of the film controlled by the electropolymerization conditions and can be characterized by electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV).…”

Screen-Printed Electrode-Based Sensors for Food Spoilage Control: Bacteria and Biogenic Amines Detection

“…The versatility of SPEs allows to choose between many different immobilization procedures: from the simplest one, the direct adsorption of the receptor by incubating it on the WE surface, to others that require more steps such as crosslinking, SAM formation, covalent binding, entrapment, or affinity binding (e.g., using the avidin-biotin system). By taking advantage of the transducer, immobilization of the recognition element through electrodeposition is also possible (a good example is the case of electrogenerated MIPs [ 45 ]). These immobilization methods are extensively described in several previous reviews [ 32 , 44 , 46 , 47 , 48 ].…”

The Use of Aptamers and Molecularly Imprinted Polymers in Biosensors for Environmental Monitoring: A Tale of Two Receptors

“…On the other hand, the conjugation of MIPs is more challenging. MIPs can either be formed on the surface of the sensor as a film or mixed with a nanocomposite material in the case for electrochemical based methods, which use electro polymerization methods [8,46]. In some cases, additional polymerisation to attach functional groups to the outside of the MIP can be performed, as is the case for solid-phase synthesis prior to conjugation [47,48].…”