Synthesis and Characterization of Imprinted Sorbents

Dear Colleagues,

Major technological developments in the last few decades have introduced novel instrumental techniques into the field of analytical chemistry, enabling us to determine the compounds that occur at very low concentrations. Nevertheless, the presence of interfering compounds in complex samples affected analytical performance. To overcome this problem, new analytical strategies that lower the limits of quantification, improve accuracy, enhance selectivity, and minimize matrix effects are necessary. Those strategies employ the pre-treatment steps to separate selected analytes before analysis. Here, the solid-phase extraction is the most frequently used technique. However, the low selectivity of commercial sorbents has limited its practical application. The attractive alternatives are molecularly imprinted polymers, which are recognized as selective sorbents because of their synthetic process, proceeding in the presence of the template molecule. Various synthetic approaches can produce imprinted sorbents in different formats, such as bulk materials, monoliths, core-shell microspheres, magnetic sorbents, and various nanostructured materials. Their plethora of formats together with their high selectivity and durability, resulted in the unprecedented development of imprinted sorbents, revealing their potential in the sample separation techniques. Along with synthesis, the comprehensive characterization of the morphology, composition, and structure of imprinted sorbents is required before final application. Thus, this Special Issue is a forum for researchers who design imprinted sorbents, characterize them, and elaborate new separation methods using those materials or applying imprinted sorbents for analytical methods, as well as for researchers who evaluate the sorption properties of imprinted sorbents using theoretical analyses.

This Special Issue is focused on current state-of-art and novel trends in the construction, characterization, and application of imprinted sorbents. It is my pleasure to invite you to submit a manuscript to this Special Issue. All types of papers such as short communications, full papers, and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Piotr Luliński
Guest Editor

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