Isotherm charts for material selection and method development with molecularly imprinted polymers and other sorbents.

A simple and efficient method is presented for assessing molecularly imprinted polymers (MIP) and other sorbents from the point of view of practical applications. The adsorption isotherms of the compounds, which need to be separated or detected in an application, are constructed from a small number of measured points on a log-log chart and then are compared graphically. Despite its simplicity and robustness this method reveals the information needed for optimal selection between MIPs and alternative sorbents. The design of separation or detection methods with MIPs is also supported by the proposed graphical isotherm comparison. Many experimental isotherms are presented supporting the proposed method.