Flavonol fluorescent flow-through sensing based on a molecular imprinted polymer Original Research Article

Molecular imprinting has become a universal tool for the preparation of artificial and robust recognition materials useful for diagnostics, industry and environmental analysis. Molecular imprinting polymers (MIPs) are easily obtained by copolymerization of suitable functional monomers and cross-linkers in presence of the desired molecule. In this work, an MIP selective for 3-hydroxyflavone (flavonol) has been prepared. Various polymerization conditions were examined in order to determine their influence on the binding strength and selectivity of the binding materials. Finally, this MIP has been utilized as a recognition element in a flow-through optosensing system with fluorescence detection, showing desirable sensitivity and selectivity characteristics.