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Molecularly Imprinted
Polymer Sensors
Lawrence, David1
and Murray, George1
Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory1
Abstract-
Molecular imprinting is a useful technique for making a chemically selective
binding site. The method involves building a synthetic polymeric scaffold
of molecular compliments containing the target molecule with subsequent
removal of the target to leave a cavity with a structural "memory"
of the target. Molecularly imprinted polymers can be employed as selective
adsorbents of specific molecules or molecular functional groups. The
imprinted polymers can be fashioned into membranes that can be used
to form ion selective electrodes for the imprinted molecular ion. By
incorporating molecules or metal ions with useful optical properties
in the binding sites of imprinted polymers, spectroscopic sensors for
the imprinted molecule may be made. Sensors for specific biomolecules
can be made using optical transduction through chromophores residing
in the imprinted site. The combination of molecular imprinting and spectroscopic
selectivity has resulted in sensors that are highly sensitive and immune
to interferences.
Keywords: polymer,
molecular imprinting, optical sensors, ion selective electrode
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