Deep Eutectic Solvents in Molecularly Imprinted Materials: A Comprehensive Review of Functional Roles and Recent Advances

Abstract

This review provides a systematic integration of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) into molecular imprinting, establishing DES-based molecularly imprinted polymers (DES-MIPs) as an emerging class of green affinity materials. The present review emphasizes the diverse functional roles of DESs in the synthesis of MIPs, as well as the reaction mechanisms of their components, hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs) and hydrogen bond donors (HBDs). It systematically covers the fundamental principles of molecular imprinting, highlighting the advantages and mechanisms of DES-based imprinting over traditional MIP approaches, such as the ability of DESs to act as functional monomers for polymerization, templates to guide imprint site formation, porogens for the regulation of polymer pore structure, and eluents for the efficient removal of templates. Furthermore, the specific applications of DES-based MIPs in food safety, environmental monitoring, and biomedical analysis are described, and future perspectives for this field are discussed.