Antibody mimics for precise identification of proteins based on molecularly imprinted polymers: Developments and prospects

Antibodies play an important role for precise identification of target within the domain of biological analysis. However, natural antibodies still suffer from the high cost of production, low stability, and degradation by proteases. Scientists aim to develop new materials to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are considered as promising antibody mimics. However, proteins imprinting remains a serious challenge because of their large molecular size, water solubility, and high flexibility. In recent years, significant progresses have been made in preparation of advanced MIPs, proposing new techniques for development of MIPs and achieving acquisition of MIPs for proteins. Also, the advanced MIPs leads to some broader application fields. Here, we provided an overview of recent advances and applications in protein imprinting, particularly for enzyme inhibitors and viral neutralization based on MIPs, which were rarely reviewed before. In addition, the major challenges and future perspectives of MIPs for proteins are also discussed. This review made a detailed description of the preparation methods and biological applications of MIPs for proteins, providing a reference for the further development of MIPs.