Binding assays with molecularly imprinted polymers—why do they work?

The design of homologous displacement ligand binding assays based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) is discussed in terms of the MIP adsorption isotherm. It is shown that only MIPs having a binding isotherm with varying slope are suitable for the assay, but there is no need to interpret the isotherm in terms of site affinity and population. One can calculate the calibration plot of the binding assay from the isotherm and vice versa.