Recent developments in the molecular imprinting of proteins.

Molecular imprinting is an inexpensive method for the rapid fabrication of organic polymeric and inorganic network-structured materials that selectively bind a template molecule--in other words, materials that function as artificial antibodies. Imprints against small-molecule templates have been generated for decades, but attempts to prepare imprints against proteins have, until recently, been far less successful. The field has progressed rapidly, however, and a number of molecular imprints selective for protein ligands have now been reported. Given the enormous potential of replacing the antibodies used in a host of immunoassays with robust and inexpensive receptors, efforts in this area continue to intensify. This review begins with a brief analysis of two naturally occurring protein-ligand complexes, each of which illustrates the specific interactions essential for precise molecular recognition. Key developments--all appearing in 2006 and 2007--in the molecular imprinting of proteins, including many impressive advances, are then discussed.