Nanocomposites of Gold Nanoparticles@Molecularly Imprinted Polymers: Chemistry, Processing, and Applications in Sensors

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have stimulated a wide range of interest these past years due to their remarkable optical, electronic, and catalytic properties. Generally, the use of these nanopartides requires their functionalization or combination with functional molecules, the nature of which depends on the target application. Among the numerous possibilities offered by chemistry, some recent papers report the coupling of AuNPs with molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for the design of plasmonic-based AuNPs@MIP sensors. In such systems, a target analyte can be captured from a complex medium with a high specificity and selectivity owing to the exceptional chemical properties of the MIP matrix while the recognition event can be translated into a measurable physical signal (optical, electric, piezoelectric), the enhancement of which can be mediated by AuNPs. Despite such unique and intriguing advantages of AuNPs@MIP nano-composites, there are still only limited numbers of studies regarding this field at the interface between plasmonics and functional polymers. This review focuses on the chemistry, processing, and applications of these nanohybrid materials, especially in the field of highly sensitive sensors. A prospect for the exploration of novel multicomposites combining AuNPs@MIPs with other kinds of nanopartides (such as carbon nanotubes, graphene, and TiO2) is provided along with original strategies to optimize the functionality and sensitivity of these nanocomposites-based sensors.