Mimicking molecular receptors for antibiotics – analytical implications

Since their inception in 1972, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have been demonstrated to be a promising class of biomimetic materials that can be tailored to meet specific end-use recognition requirements. Applications of MIPs in separations, sensors and delivery of therapeutics have been studied and numerous papers and patents are evidence of the rapid progress in this area. In this review, we pay special attention to the MIP-based analytical methods for antibiotics, focusing on solid-phase extraction, chromatographic and non-chromatographic separations and sensing approaches as well as on novel approaches, such as combinatorial chemistry for the discovery of new imprinted materials against antibiotics.