An orthogonal approach to multifunctional molecularly imprinted polymers

[structure: see text] An "orthogonal" approach to molecularly imprinted polymers has been demonstrated using a crown ether derived monomer that does not exhibit cross-reactivity with other functional monomers. This strategy provides multiple functional groups in the binding site of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) without unproductive interactions between functional monomers. The orthogonal functional group system was shown to act cooperatively in MIPs to bind a template with higher selectivity than any of the individual functional monomers alone.