Advances in Nanoscale Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

Dear Colleague,

Molecular imprinting is one of the most effective methods for generating custom-tailored, guest-binding materials. The conceptual simplicity, straightforward preparation, and broad applicability of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) have made them highly attractive across various scientific areas, including chemistry, biology, and engineering. This Special Issue, titled “Advances in Nanoscale Molecularly Imprinted Polymers”, welcomes original research articles, communications, and review papers in this rapidly developing area.

Nanomaterials differ fundamentally from bulk materials in structure and behavior. Integrating nanochemistry with molecular imprinting enables the rapid fabrication of nanomaterials with precisely engineered molecular recognition properties. A longstanding challenge with traditional macroporous MIPs is the limited accessibility of imprinted sites, which are often buried deep within the polymer matrix where imprinting occurs. As a result, template molecules may remain entrapped, and mass transfer to and from the binding sites can be slow.

In contrast, nanoscale MIPs offer exceptionally high surface-area-to-volume ratios, greatly enhancing the accessibility of imprinted sites and accelerating mass transfer. These advantages can significantly improve performance in sensing, imaging, selective adsorption, catalysis, and a wide range of other applications in diverse fields.

Prof. Dr. Yan Zhao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Polymers is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.