Abstract
Biological systems display precise molecular recognition phenomena, which are based on immunological reactions, enzymatic reactions, and their cascade systems. Due to the fragileness of biomolecules, antibody–like synthetic molecular recognition materials have been extensively studied to develop substitutes for biomolecules. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), which are recognized as synthetic polymer receptors capable of molecular recognition, have attracted great attention since MIPs bearing sensitivity and selectivity comparable to those of natural antibodies have been reported. In order to achieve highly sensitive and selective binding activity, it is important to design and synthesize well–defined molecularly imprinted cavities with specific interaction sites. Here, recent advances in MIPs utilizing specific protein–ligand interactions are described, in which the use of such specific interactions for capturing the target proteins allows for highly sensitive and selective binding activity that can reduce nonspecific adsorption of off–target proteins.
