Molecular Imprinting of Peptides and Proteins

Molecular imprinting described as a method utilized to create artificial receptors and antibodies by construction of selective recognition sites in a synthetic polymer can be a promising tool for generating peptide and protein artificial specific recognition sites. These materials, as potential antibody substitutes, have attracted great interest and attention in different fields such as peptide and protein purification and separation, chemical/electrochemical/optical sensors/biosensors, chromatographic stationary phases, and enzyme mimics. This review has focused on fundamentals of molecularly imprinted polymers in terms of selection of molecular template, functional monomer, cross linker, and polymerization format. Furthermore, several applications of peptide/protein-imprinted materials are highlighted and challenges regarding the intrinsic properties of peptide/ protein imprinting have been emphasized. Highlights • Highlights the fundamentals of peptides and proteins molecular imprinting. • Summarizes the essential elements and polymer formats of peptide/protein imprinted materials. • Highlights the applications of peptide/protein imprinting. • Highlights the challenges in peptide/protein imprinting.