Molecularly imprinted polymers meet electrochemical cancer chemosensors: A critical review from a clinical and economic perspective

Early cancer detection is crucial for successful treatment, and biomarkers play a vital role in this process. The determination of biomarkers using electrochemical chemosensors is a well-established technique in which the transducer and the recognition element are used to detect the target analyte. Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), synthetic polymers with a three-dimensional structure that matches specific cancer biomarkers, have emerged as promising tools for developing chemosensors with high selectivity and sensitivity. This review highlights the recent advances (2016-2023) and an overview of the current state of electrochemical MIP-based cancer biomarkers chemosensors and discusses their design, fabrication, and analytical performance, including their selectivity, linear range, and limit of detection. Moreover, an in-depth evaluation of electrochemical MIPbased cancer biomarkers chemosensors was performed from a clinical and an economic perspective, including their suitability for point-of-care testing and the cost-effectiveness of their synthesis. In conclusion, this review identifies the current limitations of MIP-based electrochemical cancer chemosensors and addresses potential future directions for the field, emphasizing the importance of developing optimized, cost-effective, and clinically relevant sensing platforms for the early detection of cancer.

Automated summary

Early cancer detection is crucial, and electrochemical MIP-based cancer biomarker chemosensors have emerged as promising tools for this purpose. This review summarizes the recent advances in the design, fabrication, and performance evaluation of these chemosensors, highlighting their selectivity, linear range, and limit of detection. Additionally, the clinical and economic perspectives are considered, emphasizing the importance of developing optimized and cost-effective sensing platforms for the early detection of cancer.