Molecular Imprinting and Chemical Sensing

Optical and mass-sensitive transducers coated with synthetic antibodies allow analyte detection in liquid phase. Flow cells for a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) with screen printed multi-electrode structures offer excellent temperature/viscosity compensations and automation potentials. Imprinting polyurethanes preferably with binary mixtures of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at elevated temperatures makes possible a tuning of the sensor selectivity. Thus, detection limits down to some ng/L are accessible and crosssensitivities to humic acids are eliminated. Furthermore, copolymers including acrylic or methacrylic acid form recognition sites for xanthine derivatives after caffeine imprinting. The complex process of automotive oil degradation is monitored with fresh and used-oil imprinted polyurethanes and sol-gel phases. Compensating for viscosity changes during oil ageing guarantees the characterization of the pure chemical changes.