Molecularly imprinted polymers as the future drug delivery devices.

In recent years, the investigations of new drug delivery systems have been directed on the development of some "intelligent" drug delivery devices that are able to directly respond to the patient's individual needs. New drug delivery systems should maximize the efficiency of administrated therapeutic agents and improve the patient's quality of life. Introduction of the new drug delivery devices is an important scientific goal, which could be achieved by combining new technologies and intelligent biomaterials. Molecular imprinting technology has a high potential for the preparation of optimized drug delivery forms. Here, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are promising new materials for such purposes, but their application in this field is nowadays at a developing stage. In this review, the principles of molecular imprinting and the recognition-release mechanisms of polymeric matrices are discussed. The potential application of molecularly imprinted materials as the future drug delivery systems with various administering routes (transdermal, ocular or oral) are presented, and some future prospects for the imprinted polymers are outlined.