Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Based Biosensors: For the Early, Rapid Detection of Pathogens, Biomarkers, and Toxins in Clinical, Environmental, or Food Samples

Early detection of pathogens, biomarkers, or toxins in clinical, environmental, or food samples is of great interest, and it continues to be a challenge in disease diagnosis as well as in environmental and food-safety monitoring. A molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) is a polymer capable of mimicking the function and structure of antibodies and biological receptors to recognize target molecules with high sensitivity and selectivity. As a critical component of polymeric sensors, MIP can be incorporated into a variety of signal amplification or transduction platforms to fabricate polymeric sensors. These polymeric sensors have been investigated and shown promising potential in the detection of target molecules. In this article, we summarize and discuss the recent advances of MIP-based polymeric sensors.