Cancer is a disease caused by abnormal cell growth that spreads through other parts of the body and threatens life by destroying healthy tissues. Therefore, numerous techniques have been employed not only to diagnose and monitor the progress of cancer in a precise manner but also to develop appropriate therapeutic agents with enhanced efficacy and safety profiles. In this regard, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs), synthetic receptors that recognize targeted molecules with high affinity and selectivity, have been intensively investigated as one of the most attractive biomaterials for theragnostic approaches. This review describes diverse synthesis strategies to provide the rationale behind these synthetic antibodies and provides a selective overview of the recent progress in the in vitro and in vivo targeting of cancer biomarkers for diagnosis and therapeutic applications. Taken together, the topics discussed in this review provide concise guidelines for the development of novel MIP-based systems to diagnose cancer more precisely and promote successful treatment.Graphical AbstractMolecularly
imprinted polymers (MIPs), synthetic receptors that recognize targeted
molecules with high affinity and selectivity, have been
intensively investigated as one of the most attractive biomaterials for cancer
theragnostic approaches. This review describes diverse synthesis strategies to
provide the rationale behind these synthetic antibodies and provides a selective overview of the recent progress in
thein vitroandin vivotargeting of cancer biomarkers
for diagnosis and therapeutic applications. The topics discussed in this review
aim to provide concise guidelines for the development of novel MIP-based
systems to diagnose cancer more precisely and promote successful treatment.