Microchimica Acta742:581 ) 02(

[Link]

REVIEW ARTICLE

Molecularly imprinted polymers for the detection of illegal drugs

and additives: a review
Deli Xiao 1,2 & Yue Jiang 1 & Yanping Bi 3

Received: 23 October 2017 / Accepted: 16 February 2018

# Springer-Verlag GmbH Austria, part of Springer Nature 2018

Abstract
This review (with 154 refs.) describes the current status of using molecularly imprinted polymers in the extraction and quanti-
tation of illicit drugs and additives. The review starts with an introduction into some synthesis methods (lump MIPs, spherical
MIPs, surface imprinting) of MIPs using illicit drugs and additives as templates. The next section covers applications, with
subsections on the detection of illegal additives in food, of doping in sports, and of illicit addictive drugs. A particular focus is
directed towards current limitations and challenges, on the optimization of methods for preparation of MIPs, their applicability to
aqueous samples, the leakage of template molecules, and the identification of the best balance between adsorption capacity and
selectivity factor. At last, the need for convincing characterization methods, the lack of uniform parameters for defining selec-
tivity, and the merits and demerits of MIPs prepared using nanomaterials are addressed. Strategies are suggested to solve existing
problems, and future developments are discussed with respect to a more widespread use in relevant fields.

Keywords Illicit drugs . Molecular imprinting . Polymerization . Sports doping . Surface imprinting . Trace substance

Introduction seems to be widespread and may be increasing [4–6]. Doping

in sports are drugs that athletes take to improve performance
Illegal drugs are defined as drugs that are not related to the in competition [7, 8]. Illegal food additives refer to the non-
purpose of medical treatment, prevention and health care. food substances which are prohibited in human food. The
Illegal drugs have been prohibited by regulations of the state harm of illicit drugs which pose a threat to human survival
administration because they are believed to present unaccept- and development has spread to food safety, sports, medical
able risks of addiction to users [1]. Illegal drugs include illicit and health field, becoming a globalization problem.
drugs and doping agents as used in sports. Illicit drugs are Considering that illegal drugs have developed rapidly, detec-
addicted pharmaceutical drugs generally which can cause tion of illicit drugs in the human body and illegal additives in
mental disorder or irritability and lead to a series of abnormal food has become a priority. However, there exist some prob-
behavior [2, 3]. The use of illegal psychoactive drugs is com- lems such as complicated composition, low quantity, serious
monplace in many parts of the world, and this phenomenon matrix interference, high labor intensity and poor selectivity in
the enrichment and detection of illicit drugs and additives.
Hence the traditional extraction materials and analysis
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article
([Link] contains supplementary methods have been unable to meet the actual needs. To over-
material, which is available to authorized users. come these obstacles, we require new high selectivity mate-
rials and rapid analysis method which can simplify sample
* Yanping Bi pretreatment steps, improve the detection sensitivity and real-
biyanpingtsmc@[Link] ize the automatic detection.
1
Molecular imprinting [9] is a method for creating, in a
Department of Analytical Chemistry, China Pharmaceutical
University, Nanjing 210009, China
polymer matrix, an imprinted cavity that has a shape matched
2
to a template molecule. The concept of molecular imprinting
Key Laboratory of Biomedical Functional Materials, China
Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China
appeared due to the development of molecular immunology
3
antibody formation theory proposed by L. Pauling, whose
School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Taishan Medical University, No.
619, Changcheng Road, Tai’an 271016, People’s Republic of China
history can be traced back to the 1940s [10]. The recognition
247 Page 2 of 20 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

of MIPs mainly imitates the biological processes such as Fig. 1 Timeline showing the advances in MIPs used for detection„
ligand-receptor binding, substrate-enzyme reactions and of illicit drugs and additives in the literature. Reproduced from
Refs. [35–59]
translation and transcription of the genetic code. Molecularly
imprinted polymers (MIPs) are obtained by assembly of a
cross-linked polymer matrix around a template molecule that
is held in dispersive medium, either covalently or non-cova- simultaneous enrichment of some illegal drugs, their structural
lently, by judiciously chosen functional monomer, and subse- analogues and metabolin.
quent removal of the template molecular from the prepared Although MIPs enjoy significant benefits in detecting ille-
polymer matrix produces a molecularly imprinted cavity with gal drugs and additives, they confront many challenges such
a shape matched to the template molecule. In the final MIPs, as the lack of convenient preparation methods, template leak-
the imprint cavity remains when the imprint molecule is age, the recognition in aqueous environment, the balance of
removed, and is able to interact with template molecular adsorption capacity and selectivity factor, lack of convincing
or the molecular that as same as the template through any characterization methods, absence of uniform parameters for
combination of size, shape, and functional group matching. selectivity and so on. In this article, we give a comprehensive
Fig. S1 shows the principle of molecularly imprinting poly- overview of the advances in MIPs used for detection of illicit
mers [11]. drugs, which covers the main approaches to the design, syn-
The Molecular Imprinting Organization was established thesis, characterization and application of MIPs in the deter-
at Lund University in 1997. Ever since, molecular imprint- mination of illicit drugs. Furthermore, we place more empha-
ing has become one of the most impressive materials with sis on the challenges and existing solutions in the field of
high selectivity and high concentration [12]. Owing to their molecularly imprinted polymers for the detection of illicit
advantages, MIPs have been widely utilized as molecular drugs.
recognition and separation materials in different fields par-
ticularly as selective adsorbents for solid-phase extraction
(SPE) [13–17], chromatographic [18–22] and chemical
sensor [23–28]. As technology progresses, MIPs gradually Polymerization method of MIPs using illicit
have also become essential for determination of illicit drugs drugs and additives as templates
and additives [29–34]. Fig. 1 shows the timeline of the
advances in MIPs used for detection of illicit drugs. Free-radical polymerization is that the monomer by means
In all analytical methods of detecting illicit drugs and ad- of light, heat, radiation and initiator agent forms active
ditives, MIPs possess incomparable superiority relative to tra- radicals and then polymerization of monomers forms a
ditional analysis methods. Firstly, the content of illegal drugs chemical reaction chain polymer. Owing to its advantages
is usually too low to be detected by traditional analysis of mild reaction conditions, tolerant of functional groups
methods, while this requirement can be achieved with help in the monomers and impurities in the system and fast
of MIPs. Secondly, due to high matrix interferences of some response,free-radical polymerization is widely used in
complex samples, severe masking caused by components synthesis of MIPs.
existing in the form of compounds, and interfering effects of Blomgren et al. [60] prepared a MIP by radical polymeri-
protein substances on the detection of illegal drugs, there is a zation using brombuterol, a structural analogue of clenbuterol
pressing need for an enrichment method with high selectivity as the template for the extraction of clenbuterol from calf urine
and a highly sensitive detection method like MIPs. Otherwise, samples. Compared with the non-imprinted polymer, the MIP
it is extremely apt to result in missed and false detection [57]. has higher selectivity for clenbuterol. The result shows that the
Thirdly, with the continual development of illegal drugs, a MIP coupled with HPLC–UV is superior to routine analytical
wide variety of illicit drugs and additives have appeared on methods in bioanalysis at trace levels. Harun et al. [61] syn-
the market. For example, because of the increasing supervi- thesized an anti-ketamine MIP by free radical polymerization
sion to clenbuterol hydrochloride, the structural analogue, for solid-phase extraction and isolation of ketamine and
ractopamine has been used as succedaneum of clenbuterol norketamine from human hair extracts prior to LC-MS/MS
hydrochloride. Therefore, the single detection method de- analysis. The MIP columns can simultaneously detect keta-
signed for a single drug cannot overcome its limitations. mine and its main metabolite, norketamine and a range of
Due to the procedure of metabolism and elimination, the con- different pH and solvent conditions are unaffected for the
tent of the prototype drug decreases gradually until it fails to performance of MIPs.
be detected. There is an urgent need for a multi-sample and So far, MIPs synthesis methods mainly are bulk polymer-
multi-index identification and detection system [58] to simul- ization, in-situ polymerization, suspension polymerization
taneously enrich the prototype drug and its metabolin. The and surface imprinting free radical polymerization as the basic
specific cavities and action sites of MIPs can realize the principles.
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 3 of 20 247
247 Page 4 of 20 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

Lump MIP synthesis SEM images of MIPs synthesized by two methods is shown in
Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2A and 2B, A. Sorribes-Soriano et
Lump MIP synthesis refers to that the MIP prepared by this al.[62] produced cocaine MIPs and Zhengzhong Lin et al.[65]
method has no fixed shape and stacks together without rules. synthesized malachite green MIPs by bulk polymerization.
This method includes bulk polymerization and In-situ poly- They are both in the form of small globules. As shown in
merization. Because of the roughness, the MIP forms irregular Fig. 2C and 2D, Haiyun Zhai et al.[63] prepared rhodamine
shapes and has large specific surface area. B MIPs and Ting Du et al.[66] synthesized difenoconazole
Bulk polymerization, which is also known as mass poly- MIPs by in-situ polymerization. Compared with bulk poly-
merization, is the most conventional method for preparing merization, the MIPs prepared by in-situ polymerization are
MIPs due to its attractive properties, such as simple operation rounded, beaded and filled in the glass capillary.
and low production costs. This method generally is dissolving
the template molecule, functional monomer, crosslinking Spherical MIP synthesis method
agent and initiator in accordance with a certain proportion in
an inert solvent, and then adding initiator to initiate the reac- Spherical MIP synthetic method is a MIP synthetic method
tion. After crushing, grinding, sieving and other processes, the that the MIP has regular spherical shape and a particle size
molecule with desired particle size is obtained. Although the within a certain range, including precipitation polymerization,
MIPs prepared by bulk polymerization provide adequate se- suspension polymerization and emulsion polymerization.
lectivity, there are still some shortcomings including time- Table 1 compares the three spherical MIP synthesis methods.
consuming preparation procedure, low-affinity binding, high Precipitation polymerization uses a polymerization reac-
diffusion barrier, low-rate mass transfer, and poor site tion to form a polymer in an organic solvent and the occur-
accessibility. rence of polymer phase separation, and the resulting precipi-
In-situ polymerization means that monomers are filled into tates are nearly spherical MIPs. In this approach, polymeriza-
the interlayer and polymerization occurs between the layers. tion takes place in a large excess of an organic solvent (where
In-situ polymerization is generally pouring polymerization the monomers are soluble, but the resulting polymer is not), at
mixture solution into an empty column or capillary firstly monomer concentrations typically in the range of 2–5% (w/v).
and then ending with a plug. After initiated at a certain time, In such conditions, the polymer nuclei formed by aggregation
column or capillary will be connected to the column or capil- of highly cross-linked oligomer radicals do not overlap or
lary chromatography or electrophoresis. When the template is coalescence but continue to grow individually by capturing
washed out, the MIP column or MIP capillary can be used new oligomers in this diluted reaction system. The growing
directly in chromatographic or electrophoretic separation. polymer has little affinity for the surrounding solvent and
This method greatly simplifies the experimental process be- phase separation occurs, and nonporous polymer micro-
cause they are prepared and packed in one step. However, the spheres are obtained. Zhongcan Zhang et al. [69] prepared
suitable porogen which is added to make the column with MIPs by precipitation polymerization for selective extraction
good permeability can form hydrogen bonds between the of melamine in daily products. When 7.48 mmol crosslinker
porogen and functional monomers and influence the hydrogen was used, the perfect microspheres were obtained. According
formed between template and functional monomer, thus the to the MIPs images, it is evident that the MIP microspheres are
affinity and selectivity of MIPs decrease. Furthermore, the rather homogeneous with no significant aggregation. Peilong
degree of in-situ polymerization reaction is difficult to control. Wang et al. [67] synthesized molecularly imprinted polymer
A. Sorribes-Soriano et al. [62] prepared a cocaine-based microspheres by precipitation polymerization for the treat-
MIP using bulk polymerization for solid-phase extraction of ment of pork samples to detect clenbuterol and other β-ago-
cocaine in saliva samples by ion mobility spectrometry. The nists. The results indicate that the method coupled with ultra-
result of MIP coupled with ion mobility spectrometry is com- performance chromatography coupled tandem mass spec-
parable to that of a confirmatory gas chromatography-mass trometry detection offers high recoveries, low detection limit
spectrometry method statistically, indicating that MIP-IMS is and good repeatability, providing a reliable method of deter-
a practical choice of immunoassay procedures to screen co- mining β-agonists in real pork tissue samples.
caine in biological fluids. Kaisong Yuan et al. [63] sensitively Suspension polymerization is one method for preparing
determined rose bengal in brown sugar by molecularly polymer microsphere. The monomers used in suspension po-
imprinted solid-phase extraction (MISPE) coupled with cap- lymerization are usually hydrophobic and dispersed phase is
illary electrophoresis laser-induced fluorescence detection. usually water or highly polar organic solvent. Because of the
The rose bengal imprinted monolithic column prepared by shortcomings of the MIP synthesized by suspension polymer-
in-situ polymerization shows higher specificity, recognition ization, it is difficult to prepare MIPs by conventional aqueous
ability, recovery and stability than HPLC and capillary elec- suspension polymerization process. But there are some reports
trophoresis coupled with traditional SPE. The comparison of of the success of suspension polymerization. Zi-Ru Lian et al.
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 5 of 20 247

Fig. 2 The SEM images of MIPs

synthesized by two methods. a
cocaine MIP synthesized by bulk
polymerization [62]; (b)
malachite green MIP synthesized
by bulk polymerization [64]; (c)
rose bengal MIP synthesized by
in-situ polymerization [63]; (d)
difenoconazole MIP synthesized
by in-situ polymerization [65]

[68] used caffeine as the dummy template molecule and poly- the synthesis, making washing procedures more sophisticated
vinyl alcohol as the dispersive reagent in water to prepare and sometimes reducing the purity of MIPs.
MIPs as a selective sorbent for the solid-phase extraction of A so-called Pickering emulsion is an emulsion stabilized
gonyautoxins 2,3. The MISPE can eliminate the influence of by solid particles. It was firstly described by Pickering in
interference matrix in the extract. Hongyuan Yan et al. [70] 1907. As reported previously, the emulsion type (O/W or
prepared new ionic liquid modified dummy molecularly W/O) and droplet sizes of Pickering emulsion can be easily
imprinted microspheres by aqueous suspension polymeriza- controlled by adjusting the hydrophilic–hydrophobic proper-
tion as the sorbent of solid-phase extraction to detect clenbu- ties and mass concentration of the used solid particles.
terol and clorprenaline in urine. The molecularly imprinted Pickering emulsion polymerization, a promising alternative
microspheres were synthesized using phenylephrine as dum- for preparing desired MIP materials for SPE applications, ben-
my template and 1-allyl-3-ethylimidazolium bromide as co- efits from their advantages of simplicity, high yields of poly-
functional monomer. According to the results, the ionic liquid mer and good control of final particle size. Li et al. [71] pre-
modified polymers have regular shapes, high adsorption ca- pared MIPs by emulsion polymerization for extraction of mal-
pacity and mechanical strength, which brings about high se- achite green in fish. The MIP particles were synthesized using
lectivity and adsorbability to clenbuterol and clorprenaline MAA as functional monomer, EGDMA as cross-linker, and a
and avoids the effect of template leakage on quantitative combination of Span-80 and Tween-80 as an emulsifier. The
analysis. detection method based on MIPs is successfully established to
The emulsion polymerization is another method for prepar- selectively analyze malachite green residue in fish samples.
ing the MIPs microspheres. The template molecule, functional
monomer and crosslinking agent are dissolved in an organic Surface imprinting
solvent, and typically a certain amount of surfactant is added.
Then this solution is transferred into water for stir and emul- Surface imprinting has increasingly attracted the most atten-
sification, and polymerization occurs by adding the initiator. tion in the field of molecular imprinting because its advan-
Compared to precipitation polymerization, it usually requires tages overcome the traditional shortcomings of MIPs slow
a larger number of chemicals including surfactants, buffer mass transfer and increase the uniformity of the binding site.
components and stabilizers which have to be removed after Surface imprinting technique and technology continue to be
247 Page 6 of 20 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

Table 1 The comparison of three common spherical MIP synthesis methods

Spherical MIP Particle size Initiator Advantage Disadvantage SEM image R ef.
synthesis
method
Precipitation wide no special 1 quick, straightforward 1 higher cost [67]
polymerization particle size requirement and cheap 2 environmentalhazard
distribution 2 mono-disperse
spherical polymer
particles in high yield and
purity.

Suspension micron oil-soluble 1 most convenient 1 Highly polar solvents [68]

polymerization grade, initiator 2 most common will affect the selectivity
uniform- of the polymer to the
sized template.
particle 2 Hydrophilic acidic
monomer cause the no
rules copolymerization
difficult.
3 water-soluble
molecular imprinting
will loss
Emulsion nanometer water-soluble 1 Sizes uniform 1 Large variability in the [14]
polymerization grade, initiator 2 Exhibit imprinted particle size.
uniform- surfaces with improved 2 Poor purity
sized binding site homogeneity
particle and accessibility

innovative and grow to maturity. Surface molecular imprint- process of imprinting on the surface of QDs is shown in Fig.
ing creates recognition sites on the surface of the matrix ma- S2. With good dispersibility, uniform morphology, high selec-
terial to increase the bonding speed of imprinting molecular tivity and binding affinity, the QDs@MIPs can realize simul-
recognition site, more suitable for solid-phase extraction and taneous detection of norepinephrine and epinephrine.
the stationary phase packing. Moreover, the matrix materials As the concept of the hollow MIPs was proposed, the sin-
have considerable mechanical stability and different MIPs gle hole hollow capsules were first synthesized in 2007 [73].
needed can be achieved by adjusting the matrix material itself. Like previous surface imprinting, hollow imprinting methods
However, due to the incomplete or uneven coating of matrix also enjoy the advantages of high selectivity, high stability to
materials, surface imprinting may have higher nonspecific ad- harsh chemical and physical conditions, and excellent reus-
sorption than conventional imprinting methods. ability. In addition, the controllable hole structure of hollow
Generally surface imprinting is divided into two methods, polymers favors faster mass transfer. Qi Zhao et al. [74] pre-
the traditional surface imprinting and hollow imprinting. pared single-hole hollow molecularly imprinted microspheres
Traditional surface imprinting includes modified imprinting to extract triazine pesticides in cereal samples. They used car-
surface method, and imprinted sites strictly controlled in boxylated polystyrene particles as the core. The process of
MIPs surface method. The general process of modified im- synthesizing the MIP is shown in Fig. S3. The results indicate
printing surface method is that template molecule and func- the specific surface area and binding capacity of MIPs pre-
tional monomer are dissolved in porogen for pared by hollow imprinting are superior to those of MIPs
prepolymerization, and then this pre-polymer is grafted onto prepared by precipitation polymerization and surface
the matrix materials treated with surface activation, such as imprinting.
silica, polymer particles, glass, and carbon nanotubes. Fangdi But the hollow imprinting has obvious shortcomings. The
Wei et al. [72] anchored MIPs on the surfaces of two different MIP shell has to be thick because the polymer outside is easy
color quantum dots (QDs) to simultaneously detect norepi- to collapse and break when dissolving and removal of the soft
nephrine and epinephrine. Two kinds of QDs@MIPs were core. However, the thick imprinting shell leads to a low mass
both synthesized by the surface modification method. The transfer and low utilization ratio of the binding sites. Dong
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 7 of 20 247

Ren et al. [75] developed a new approach to the preparation of 3 and 4 summarize the highlighted applications of MIPs pre-
hollow MIPs with thin and solid shells. With polystyrene/SiO2 pared by different polymerization processes as the separation
particles as the core, only the polystyrene part was sacrificed, media for the determination of various illegal additives in
and the SiO2 part was kept in the hollow MIPs as the support food, doping in sports and illicit addictive drugs, respectively.
to make it possible to get a thin but solid MIP shell. This A variety of trace compounds are extracted from different
method not only avoids deformation and breaking but in- samples for detection, such as tetracycline antibiotics, mala-
creases the surface area of matrix materials. chite green, clenbuterol, triamterene, testosterone, morphine,
Free-radical polymerization cannot stay in an intermediate methamphetamine and so on.
stage and cannot separate the stable product, and thus the
particle size of the MIP is heterogeneity. Many efforts have
The detection of illegal additives in food
been devoted to addressing this issue in the past years and
some progress has been made in this field [76–79].
In accordance with law, use of illegal food additives shall be
Controlled radical polymerization (CRP) is defined as the pro-
prohibited in human food as a result of the fact that these non-
cess that the balance between growth radicals and various
food substances pose a great threat to human health. The β-
dormant species is used for controlling polymer molecular
agonist ractopamine and azo dye basic orange II are both
weight, the distribution of molecular weight and terminal
classified as illegal food additives when they are used in food.
functional groups in radical polymerization system. The
Compared with traditional sensor detection methods for
CRP includes iniferter, stable free radical polymerization, at-
determination of trace compounds which are hard to avoid
om transfer radical polymerization and reversible addition
the interference of analogs, MIPs developed as imprinted
fragmentation chain transfer polymerization. The advantage
sensing membrane coupled with sensor measurement technol-
of CRP is that the molecular weight of the polymer, end-
ogy may improve the detection efficiency. Hongcai Zhang
group functionalization, molecular weight distribution, three-
et al. [114] prepared a novel amperometric sensor based on
dimensional structure, block copolymers and graft copoly-
screen-printed electrode modified with multi-walled carbon
mers can be controlled which exactly solves the problem men-
nanotubes (MWCNT) and molecularly imprinted membranes
tioned above. But its disadvantages of harsh polymerization
(MIM) for the determination of ractopamine in pig urine. Fig.
conditions and polarity sensitive groups limit the wide range
S5 shows a scheme of screen-printed electrode modified with
of applications.
MWCNT and MIM. The MIMs were prepared on the screen-
As a CRP, atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) has
printed electrodes via in-situ thermal polymerization, and the
been a popular method to graft polymer brushes because of the
electrodes were modified with MWCNT beforehand. Helped
wide applicability of monomers, good compatibility of func-
by the replacement of new screen-printed electrodes modified
tional groups and excellent controllability for product molec-
with MWCNT-MIM, it is convenient to realize multiple or
ular weight and dispersity. Yongliang Liu et al. [80] prepared
successive determination of ractopamine.
surface molecularly imprinted Fe3O4@MIP nanoparticles by
Solid-phase extraction is the most widely used pretreat-
surface initiated ATRP to selectively enrich pefloxacin mesy-
ment technology at present. However, the traditional sorbents
late in egg samples. The overall preparation of Fe3O4@MIP
such as bonded silica gel, ion exchange resin are lack of
nanoparticles is shown in Fig. S4. Due to the advantages of
enough selectivity. MIPs as a novel sorbent with high selec-
specific recognition and high affinity for pefloxacin mesylate
tivity can be applicable for solid-phase extraction. Xiaoyan Li
in aqueous media, the Fe3O4@MIP nanoparticles are proved
et al. [115] developed a novel MIP with modified rosin as a
to be effective in concentrating pefloxacin mesylate from real
cross-linker for the determination of basic orange II in food.
samples.
The synthesized MIPs possess a highly imprinting capacity
and significant selectivity in comparison with those prepared
by traditional cross-linkers.
Application

MIPs usually act as a vehicle for preconcentration and sepa- The detection of doping in sports
ration of samples, which is widely used in the detection of
trace compounds, such as stimulants, environmental pollut- There are many examples of domestic and international ath-
ants, food additives, etc. In the last years, MIPs have been letes taking punishment because of taking illegal drugs.
shown to be effective in such areas, therefore the relevant Common illegal drugs are about 100 kinds which can be di-
articles have been increasing in quantities. The great potential vided into the following seven categories, including analge-
applications of MIPs utilized for sample separation are sum- sics, tranquilizers, stimulants, anabolic steroids, peptide hor-
marized in Ref. [81–113], where the application of MIPs in the mones, thiazide diuretics and aldosterone drugs, masking
detection of illicit drugs is enumerated in particular. Tables 2, agents and β- blockers.
 247
Page 8 of 20

Table 2 Selected application examples of MIPs for the determination of illegal food additives

Polymerization process Target molecule Template molecule Monomer/cross-linker/porogen Application/detection Sample source
Ref.

Precipitation polymerization Tetracycline antibiotics Tetracycline MAA/TRIM/MeOH–ACN MISPE–LC–MS/MS Foodstuffs [80]

Precipitation polymerization Malachite green, gentian violet and Malachite green MAA/EGDMA/ACN MISPE–HPLC Aquatic products [81]
their metabolites
Emulsion polymerization Acephate Acephate MAA/EGDMA/chloroform Extraction Contaminated water [82]
Emulsion polymerization Florfenicol Florfenicol AM/EGDMA/DMSO MISPE–LC–MS/MS Milk [83]
Suspension polymerization Clenbuterol hydrochloride Tert-butylamine and MAA/EGDMA/chloroform MI–MSPD–HPLC Chicken samples [84]
2-chloroaniline
In-situ polymerization Rhodamine B Rhodamine B GO/SiO2–MISPE Chili powder [85]
MAA/EDMA/MeOH–toluene–dodec- monolithic column
anol
Bulk polymerization Dichlorvos Dichlorvos MAA/TRIM/ACN– toluene MISPE–HPLC Cucumber, lettuce [86]
In-situ polymerization Tetracyclines Tetracycline MAA/EGDMA/ MISPE–HPLC Milk, honey [87]
cyclohexanol–dodecanol
In-situ polymerization Quinolones Norfloxacin MAA/EGDMA/DMF–DMSO MISPE–HPLC Pork [88]
Bulk polymerization Sudan I Sudan I MAA/TRIM/ acetone MIP–coated Hot chili powder, poultry [89]
SPME–HPLC feed samples
Surface imprintig Aflatoxins 5,7–dimethoxycoumarin MAA,4VP/EGDMA/DMSO–ACN Extraction, Tea–leaves, corn [90]
UHPLC-MS/MS
Thermal polymerization Ractopamine Ractopamine MAA/EGDMA/ chloroform–MeOH MIP Feed, beef [91]
membrane–aptasensor
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(
 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

Table 3 Selected application examples of MIPs for the determination of doping in sports

Polymerization process Target molecule Template molecule Monomer/cross-linker/porogen Application/ Sample source Ref.
detection

Thermal polymerization Tamoxifen Clomiphene MAA/ EGDMA/ ACN MISPE–HPLC–UV Urine [92]
Precipitation polymerization Triamterene Triamterene MAA/DVB/ ACN- toluene MISPE–HPLC–UV Human serum [93]
Bulk polymerization Testosterone 1,2,3,4-tetra-Ο-acetyl-β-glucuronic 1-(4-vinylphenyl)-3-(3,5-bis(trifluromethyl)phenyl)urea/ MISPE-HPLC-UV Urine [94]
glucuronide acid pentaerythritol triacrylate/ MeCN
Precipitation polymerization Propranolol Propranolol MAA/DVB-TRIM/ACN MIP–based sensor Pharmaceutical [95]
samples
Bulk polymerization Carvedilol Carvedilol MAA/EGDMA/chloroform-ACN-MeOH PT–MISPE–HPLC–DAD Human urine [96]
Precipitation polymerization Testosterone Methyltestosterone MAA/EDMA/ACN Extraction Hydrolyzed [97]
urine
samples
Bulk polymerization Methadone Methadone MAA/ EGDMA/anhydrous ACN MISPE–GC–FID Plasma, saliva [98]
Reversible Clenbuterol Clenbuterol MAA/EDMA/toluene-dodecanol MIP monolithic column Complex [99]
addition-fragmentation chain samples
transfer polymerization
Bulk polymerization Metoprolol Metoprolol MAA/EGDMA/chloroform MIP based Human urine [100]
PVC–membrane–coated and plasma
graphite electrode
Bulk polymerization Acetazolamide Acetazolamide 4-VP/ EGDMA/ acetone MISPE–DPV Human plasma [101]
Electro–polymerization Hydrochlorothiazide Pyrrole/−/ ethanol MIP–modified MWCNTs/ Human serum [102]
Hydrochlorothia- PGE
zide
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 247
Page 10 of 20

Table 4 Selected application examples of MIPs for the determination of illicit addictive drugs

Polymerization process Target molecule Template molecule Monomer/cross-linker/porogen Application/detection Sample source Ref.

Precipitation polymerization Methamphetamine Methamphetamine MAA/EGDMA/ACN MISPE–DLLME Human urine [103]

Photopolymerization Ketamine Ketamine hydrochloride MAA/EGDMA/water–MeOH MIPH Human urine and saliva [104]
Photopolymerization Cocaine Cocaine MAA,2-VP/EGDMA, DVB, MISPE–LC–MS Hair [105]
TRIM/ACN
Precipitation polymerization Buprenorphine Buprenorphine AA/EGDMA/ACN-MeOH Extraction, HPLC–UV Human urine and [106]
plasma
Bulk polymerization Norephedrine Norephedrine MAA/EGDMA/ACN-MeOH MISPE Khat samples [107]
Precipitation polymerization Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol Catechin 4-Vpy/ EGDMA/TRIGLYME MISPE–LC–MS/MS Urine, oral fluid [108]
Radical polymerization Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol MAA, HEMA, 4-VPy/EGDMA/ MISPE–GC–MS Urine [109]
11-hydroxy-Δ9-tetrahydrocannab- MeOH
inol
Thermal radical Diacetylmorphine Diacetylmorphine hydrochloride MAA/ EGDMA/ACN SPME–GC or GC/MS Aqueous samples [110]
copolymerization
Bulk polymerization Tramadol Tramadol MAA/EGDMA/chloroform MISPE–HPLC Plasma and urine [111]
In-situ polymerization Tramadol Tramadol MAA/EGDMA/chloroform MIP monolithic Human plasma and [112]
column–HPLC urine
Bulk polymerization Tramadol Tramadol MAA/EGDMA/chloroform MISPE–HPLC Human plasma and [113]
urine
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 11 of 20 247

In comparison to different nonspecific extraction methods, psychotropic drugs, the most commonly including marijuana,
the selective extraction based on MIPs tends to be more pre- opium and cocaine in narcotic drugs. Cocaine is taken as an
cise. Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone. Due to its example to compare the LOD and LOQ of the determination
anabolic effects that lead to increases in muscle mass and of cocaine by different methods which is shown in Table 5.
strength, it is often illegally used to enhance athletic perfor- Coupled with sensor technologies, MIPs can also be
mance in sports. Bernadette Tse Sum Bui et al. [116] prepared installed on the carbon paste electrode to form a novel elec-
MIP, with methyltestosterone as template, to clean up the hy- trode for specificity identification. Caffeine is an alkaloid
drolyzed urine samples for quantification of testosterone via causing many physiological effects including stimulation of
LC-MS/MS. After a one-step extraction on the MIP, a solution the central nervous and cardiovascular systems. Taher
containing 2 ng mL−1 testosterone can be obtained, which Alizadeh et al. [133] 7prepared a novel voltammetric sensor
meets the conditions set by the World Anti-Doping Agency for the determination of caffeine based on MIT. They embed-
for the minimum required performance limits for doping con- ded the caffeine-selective MIP in the carbon paste electrode to
trols, between 2 and 10 ng mL−1. recognize caffeine selectively and prepare for the caffeine pre-
β-blockers have a relaxing effect on muscle function, concentration. Compared to NIP carbon paste, the electrode
which are known as an illegal, performance-enhancement has the capacity to identify caffeine precisely.
drug for athletes. Sonla Morante-Zarcero et al. [117] devel- Solid-phase microextraction (SPME), whose principle is
oped a new method based on a new polysaccharide-based different from solid-phase extraction, is utilized for pretreat-
stationary phase by MIP extraction, to detect the four pairs ment and can achieve ultratrace analysis associated with
of β-blockers simultaneously by HPLC, including proprano- HPLC or GC. Methamphetamine is a central nervous system
lol, metoprolol, pindolol, and atenolol. The MIP-SPE-HPLC- stimulant producing the feelings of euphoria, hallucinations,
UV method shows the advantages of good linearity, selectiv- wakefulness and inappetence which may result in agitation
ity, precision and sensitivity. and violence. Djavanshir Djozan et al. [134] synthesized a
monolithic solid-phase microextraction fiber on basis of a
The detection of illicit addictive drugs MIP by gas chromatography to extract, pre-concentrate and
detect methamphetamine. The fabricated fiber possesses the
Drugs refer to the narcotic and psychotropic substances which advantages of good firmness, stability and durability, high
can lead to drug addiction, such as opium, heroin, metham- selectivity and great recognition ability. The result shows the
phetamine, morphine, marijuana, cocaine and so on. Drugs are fiber is compatible with for determination of methamphet-
usually divided into two categories of narcotic drugs and amine from human saliva samples.

Table 5 The LOD and LOQ of the determination of cocaine by different methods

Method LOD LOQ IF Sample Ref.

LC-MS/MS 3 ng mol−1 5 ng mol−1 3.436 whole blood [118]

−1
Label-free DNA hairpin biosensor 1.517 ng ml – 6.409 human serum [119]
HPLC/MS 0.003 ng mg−1 0.008 ng mg−1 2.729 0.200 g whole blood or 50 μl urine were [120]
mixed with 200 μl water and 100 μl
0.10 mg l−1 IS in acetonitrile
UPLC–MS/MS 2.2 ng ml−1 7 ng ml−1 2.729 urine [121]
−1
Label-free electrochemical cocaine aptasensor 91,020 ng ml – 1.394 cocaine aptamer [122]
HPLC 32 ng ml−1 100 ng ml−1 2.14 plasma [123]
GC 0.02 ng mg−1 0.04 ng mg−1 2.14 hair [124]
Label-free fluorescence aptamer-based sensor 57,646 ng ml−1 – – cocaine aptamer [125]
MIP 0.049 ng ml−1 0.0081 ng ml−1 4.513 urine [126]
Complementary strand of aptamer 145.632 ng ml−1 – 6.409 Cocaine [127]
Microfluidic affinity sensor 3.034 ng ml−1 – – blood serum [128]
Electrochemical aptasensor based on 31.857 ng ml−1 – 6.409 rat serum [129]
single-walled carbon nanotubes
A novel fluorescent aptasensor based on 63.4106 ng ml−1 – 6.409 cocaine aptamer [130]
hairpin structure of
Chemiluminescence aptasensor 145.632 ng ml−1 – 3.436 Cocaine aptamer [131]
Reversed-phase HPLC 1 ng ml−1 – 4.169 plasma and human hair [132]
247 Page 12 of 20 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

Limitation and challenge electropolymerization [139, 140], the epitope approach to mo-
lecular imprinting [141], self-assembly [142, 143],
Despite the great progress of the development that has been microwave-assisted method [144] and so on.
achieved in MIPs used for enrichment and determination of
illegal drugs, there still remain substantial development chal-
Applicability in aqueous solution
lenges to be tackled, such as the lack of convenient prepara-
tion methods, template leakage, the recognition in polarity and
It is generally known that the samples used in the detection of
aqueous environment and so on. In order to improve the situ-
illegal drugs and additives are usually organic small molecules
ations of MIPs in this field, certain achievements have been
in aqueous solution. However, most MIPs using organic small
attained up to now.
molecules as template molecule only show great molecular
recognition property in organic solution. MIPs in organic so-
Optimization of preparation methods for MIPs
lution recognize objective molecules via hydrogen bonding,
while in aqueous solution, hydrogen bonding is weakened
It is obvious that only a small part of MIPs applied in
greatly because of strong hydration action, which affects
the determination of illegal drugs and additives has re-
MIPs molecular recognition property. In order to overcome
alized industrialization for the moment. Because the
limitations of existing MIPs whose template molecule is or-
preparation of MIPs is affected by various factors, the
ganic small molecule identification strategies in aqueous so-
research on most of MIPs is still in the experimental
lution, research on MIPs in aqueous solution is imperative.
stage. Currently, a trial-and-error method is seemed as
For the sake of weak hydrogen bonding, other intermolec-
the general approach to selecting functional monomer
ular forces such as metal ion chelation, electrostatic interaction
[135]. Namely, a portion of molecularly imprinted poly-
should be taken in consideration. Metal ion chelation is not
mers are synthetized with different common functional
influenced by water molecules, which is stronger than hydro-
monomers, and the experimental results decide the op-
gen bonding in aqueous solution. Stable specific binding sites
timal molecularly imprinted polymer [136]. The choice
between metal ion and template molecule are formed in aque-
of functional monomer, cross-linker and polymerization
ous solution for selective recognition. As a bond interaction,
method depends on experience, which carries significant
metal ion chelation facilitates the mild generation and cleav-
limitations. It is both time consuming and tedious to
age of the interaction between metal ion and imprinted mole-
screen an imprinted system by experience.
cule in aqueous solution. Zhong Zhang et al. [145] prepared
Molecular simulation is simulating molecular motion
novel Hg2+ ion-imprinted polymers based on dithizone–Hg2+
by theoretical method and computing technology for
chelation by a sol–gel process. The template molecule and
improvement of cycle time spent on designing new ma-
functional monomer were dithizone–Hg2+ chelate and 3-
terials and cost reduction. Molecular simulation technol-
aminopropyltriethoxysilane, respectively. The method shows
ogy, has been utilized for explanation of recognition
great potential for the determination of Hg2+ in aqueous, solid
mechanism, selection of functional monomer, determina-
and semi-solid biological samples.
tion of ratio of target molecule to functional monomer,
Surface modification is another rational choice apart from
and the design of molecular imprinting system.
enhancing the intermolecular forces, which is mentioned in
Although the combination of molecular simulation and
section 2.3. Chiyang He et al. [146] grafted testosterone-
mathematical methods is regarded as a convenient ap-
imprinted polymer film on the surface of porous silica suc-
proach [137], the technology as still shown some de-
cessfully to selectively detect testosterone. The composite is
fects. Therefore, its main studies are qualitative research
seemed as a rational method for separation of testosterone.
rather than quantitative study. Farhad Ahmadi et al.
[138] designed a MIP by aid of computational methods,
and the MIPs were successfully used to extract Leakage of template molecules
metaproterenol in human plasma. The computer
assisted-design of MIP is proven to be effective in the When MIPs are prepared by noncovalent bond, template mol-
screen of the most suitable functional monomers for a ecules can form molecular complexes in presence of function-
specified template molecule. According to the results, al monomers. MIPs binding sites established tend to be inho-
the best functional monomer is AA. The best MIPs mogeneous, resulting in non-specific binding. Then, it is dif-
show high selectivity, sensitivity, reproducibility and ac- ficult to remove template molecules from the molecularly
curacy for quantification of metaproterenol in complex imprinted polymers, which causes the leakage of template
biological samples. molecules. At present, the leakage of template molecules is a
The development in the respect of novel techniques and serious distraction to the detection in the detection of illicit
methods for MIPs preparation is also rapid, such as drugs and additives.
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 13 of 20 247

To resolve the problem, structural analogs which possess hydrophilic characterization and so on. The adsorption
similar parent structure or the same functional groups, are capacity can be selected to characterize the surface area
utilized as dummy template molecules. The analogous bind- of MIPs. Besides, various kinds of microscopes includ-
ing sites and spatial structure of dummy template molecules ing transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning
can avoid the leakage of template molecules and poor solubil- electron microscopy (SEM), atomic microscopy(AFM)
ity of template molecules. Xiao-Yun Zhao et al. [147] pre- and so forth, are applied for morphology characterization
pared a MIP monolithic column by in-situ thermal-initiated of prepared MIPs, obtaining the size and morphological
polymerization to detect triamterene. Because the structure characters. The physical property and the structure of
of melamine is similar to that of triamterene, it is chosen as a product are investigated by fourier transform infrared
dummy template molecule, which can avoid leakage of the (FT-IR) spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and ther-
template and improve the efficiency of detection. The mono- mogravimetric analysis(TGA) is used to evaluate thermal
lithic columns are effective in analysis of triamterene in bio- stability. Analysis of equilibrium data with kinetic model
logical samples. and thermodynamics model can show the assessment of
Porous MIPs are endowed with highly crosslinked mi- recognition behavior. The maximum adsorption capacity,
croporous structure, narrow hole sizes and large specific selectivity factor and bioconcentration factor are all sig-
surface areas. Numerous effective recognition sites bring nificant parameters in the performance measurement for
about high adsorption capacity for target molecules and MIPs. The evaluation of hydrophilic property of MIPs is
rapid adsorption kinetics. Furthermore, the porous struc- carried out by means of their dispersity in aqueous solu-
ture can avoid the poor results of incomplete template tion and contact angle with water. In spite of the fact that
molecule removal from the polymers during subsequent there are a large number of characterization methods in
treatment. Shoufang Xu et al. [148] developed three all aspects, an efficient characterization method is still
types of porous MIPs, including single-hole hollow lacking when researchers wonder whether it really
MIPs, multihole hollow MIPs and porous solid MIPs, formed imprinted holes as respected.
for the preconcentration and detection of triazines in soil
samples. In the respect of the imprinting capacity, single-
hole hollow MIPs and multihole hollow MIPs are better Absence of uniform parameters for selectivity
than porous solid MIPs. The MIPs have higher binding
capacity and faster mass transfer in favor of template The concept of selectivity is used to quantify the extent to
removal. which a given sorbent (MIP) binds two different compounds
(template and referent). However, there have at least two de-
Balance of adsorption capacity and selectivity factor scription method:

Adsorption capacity is usually used as an evaluation index of a. The interrelated absorbed coefficient was evaluated by the
MIPs adsorption performance. Selectivity factor refers to spe- following equations. [149]:
cial selectivity for target molecule and high selectivity factor
C
makes target molecule easier to be identified in complex sam- Static distribution coefficient: Kd ¼ Cs:p
ples. For the sake of the best results, large adsorption capacity where Cp is the concentration on the absorbed medium and
and high selectivity factor are both needed to improve the Cs is the final free concentrations of the solution. For compar-
materials performance. Nonetheless, influenced by surface ison of the MIP beads selectivity, the selectivity coefficient k
functional groups, different temperature, various concentra- was calculated as the following formula:
tion of the solutions, diverse ratio of functional monomers to KdðTemplateÞ
Selectivity coefficient: K ¼ KdðReferentÞ
template molecules and so forth, adsorption capacity and se-
where Kd(Template) and Kd(Referent) are the static distribution
lectivity factor cannot reach the best value simultaneously.
coefficients of template and referent molecules, respectively.
Namely, there exists a balance relationship between the two
indexes. How to balance the relationship between adsorption
b. The equilibrium adsorption capacity (Q, μg mg−1) of tem-
capacity and selectivity factor depends on the specific require-
plate or referent bound to the imprinted polymers are cal-
ments in actual application.
culated as the following formula [150]:
Lack of convincing characterization methods Q ¼ ð C0 −C1 Þ  V=m

In general, the characterization of MIPs consists of mor- Where C0 and C1 represent the initial solution concentration
phology characterization, structural characterization, rec- and the final solution concentration (μg mL−1) of template or
ognition behavior recognition, property characterization, referent. V represents the volume of the solution (mL) and m
247 Page 14 of 20 Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02(

Ref [151]

Ref [153]

Ref [154]
represents the weight of the polymer (mg), respectively.
The imprinting factor is defined as follows:

QA

Fe3O4@MIP MPs
α¼

SiO2@MIP MPs
QB

MIP MPs
where QA and QB are the capacities of MIP and NIP to adsorb
the template or referent. The selectivity factor is defined as
follows:
α1

adsorption capacity

adsorption capacity
adsorption capacity
β¼

equilibrium time

equilibrium time

equilibrium time
α2

particle size

particle size

particle size
where α1 is the imprinting factor with respect to the template
and α2 is the imprinting factor with respect to referent.
There is not a uniform parameter for assessment of the
selectivity for the moment. Different authors used various

7.4 μmol g−1 for malachite green

kinds of parameters because MIPs are widely used in a large

88.3 μmol g−1 for rhodamine B

range of scientific applications. Hence, it is difficult to com-

16.0 μmol g−1 for dicofol

pare the synthetized MIPs whose selective recognition ability
are measured by diverse parameters.

Microsized MIPs
Merits and demerits of MIPs prepared using

35–75 μm
7–15 μm
nanomaterials

2.7 μm

60 min
9 min

–
Using nanostructure materials as template, many MIPs with
nanometer size have been synthesized for detection of illegal
28.3 μmol g−1 for pefloxacin mesylate
drugs and additives. In the preparation of MIPs, nanostruc-

5.2 μmol g−1 for malachite green

tured MIPs need no comminution and screen, which avoids

94.4 μmol g−1 for rhodamine B

damaging the recognition sites. Compared with MIPs with
micron structures, nanostructured MIPs has higher specific
surface area to increase the proportion of effective binding

no more than 15 min

sites. Most of the binding sites are located at or near the sur-
face of nanomaterials so that nanostructured MIPs show
higher adsorption capacity. Besides, template molecules can
150 nm
500 nm

200 nm
10 min

15 min

easily attach to the molecular recognition sites, resulting in

fast binding kinetics. The comparison of nanosized and
The comparison of nanosized and microsized MIPs

microsized MIPs is shown in Table 6.

adsorption capacity

adsorption capacity

adsorption capacity

However, the preparation process of nanosized MIPs has

equilibrium time

equilibrium time

equilibrium time

high requirements on instruments and technology. Nanosized

particle size
particle size

particle size

MIPs still have the problems of high cost of production, irreg-

ular shape, uneven particle size, and decreased affinity due to
high polymerization temperature. Therefore, the preparation
of nanostructured MIPs is still a research direction in the
future.
Fe3O4@MIP NPs

SiO2@MIP NPs

MIP NPs

Conclusion
Nanosized MIPs

The development of new enrichment materials with high se-

lectivity, and sensitive analysis methods for the determination
Ref [152]
Ref [79]

Ref [70]
Table 6

of illicit drugs and additives has become a significant research

subject. In this review, polymerization methods, highlighted
Microchim Acta742:581 ) 02( Page 15 of 20 247

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Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 81402899) and Shandong 17. Chen W, Xue M, Xue F, Mu X, Xu Z, Meng Z, Zhu G, Shea KJ
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