Magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers and carbon dots molecularly imprinted polymers for green micro-extraction and analysis of pharmaceuticals in a variety of matrices

Abstract

The micro-extraction and analysis of drugs in aquatic and various environments, such as food, edible tissues, and biological fluids, has recently received a lot of researchers’ attention for maintaining sustainability. Because of carbon dots (CDs) relative safety and low poisonousness, we will focus our review on CDs applications and ignore metallic quantum dots. Our review aims to provide a thorough understanding of sample preparation techniques used for analyzing pharmaceuticals in complicated matrices. The advantages of CDs over traditional carbon-based nanomaterials will be detailed. In addition, the fundamental tenets of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), their applications, and challenges in the magnetic micro solid-phase extraction process will be illustrated. As of right now, no published study has compiled the use of either CD@MIPs or magnetic MIPs in the analysis of various drugs or the removal of their residues. Many studies from 2019 to the first half of 2024 are examined and recorded in this review, representing a unique and novel collection. It can serve as a manual for creating and refining cutting-edge polymer-based analytical techniques in the pharmaceutical field. From pharmaceutical and greenness points of view, the most important aspects of MIPs’ practical application are their capacity, recyclability, and selectivity. Consequently, these items are enumerated with great care. In this article, we focus on the multi-template MIPs (mt-MIPs) and the functions and merits of the inclusion of cross-linkers, functional monomers, and graphene oxide in their tailoring. However, the need for using one multi-template MIP for the simultaneous capture of many drugs is deeply demanded in alignment with green chemistry perspectives.