Stimuli‐responsive molecularly imprinted materials: fundamentals and applications

Stimuli-responsive molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are exciting smart materials that are gaining substantial interest within the research community due to their versatility and possible widespread applications in biosensing, biomedicine and diagnostics, as well as chromatography and separation sciences. These materials offer significant advantages as recognition materials over their biological counterparts (antibodies) because of their ease and low cost of production along with their robustness and resistance to the extremes of temperature and pH. This much needed review aims to provide an updated summary of the various stimuli-responsive MIPs reported to date including those relying on thermo, pH, photo, biomolecule, ion, magnetic and electrical stimuli and includes their design and synthesis. The review also explores the potential applications of the stimuli-responsive MIPs, particularly in the fields of biosensors and diagnostics, along with biological imaging, drug delivery, disease treatments and interventions and the separation of targets from complex media. The advantages and disadvantages of the current stimuli-responsive MIPs set out in the review, allows for researchers to gather a concise understanding of these smart-materials and should pave the way for new methods of development and real-world applications. We believe the review is a helpful and necessary guide for the future evolution and application of stimuli-responsive MIPs.