Molecular imprinting of proteins in polymers attached to the surface of nanomaterials for selective recognition of biomacromolecules

This review article summarizes the preparation of polymers imprinted with proteins that exhibit antibody-like specificity due to the presence of well-defined recognition sites. We present the newest developments concerned with use of nanomaterials, such as magnetic and silica nanoparticles, nanowires, carbon nanotubes, and quantum dots as supports enabling the preparation of protein-imprinted polymers via surface imprinting techniques. As an alternative receptor-like synthetic materials, these conjugates are attracting a great deal of interest in various fields including proteomics, genomics, and fabrication of selective sensors. However, imprinting of large biomacromolecules such as proteins still remains a challenge due to the inherent limitations related to protein properties. In the text below, we also describe examples of applications focused on selective recognition of biomacromolecules.