Smart Polymer-Based Chemical and Biological Sensors

Molecular recognition between two molecules that are chemically and geometrically compatible, such as enzyme/substrate or antigen/antibody, is a common phenomenon in the environment. Supramolecular Chemistry tries to mimic the effectivity and simplicity of these biological recognition processes, establishing the sensors or chemosensors research field. Sensors are molecules with receptors or host units in which, after a selective interaction with a target (or guest) molecule, a variation of a macroscopic property is produced, providing measurable information.

In this regard, current research is directed to the preparation of solid matrices—polymers—with chemically anchored selective receptors to avoid the migration of substances to the medium and to provide mechanical support. In addition, polymers can be specifically designed to be water-soluble or insoluble or to be transformed into finished materials with suitable mechanical and thermal properties. Cheap sensors such as chromogenic o fluorogenic coatings, films, or textiles can be obtained; they can also be used as integrated parts in conventional analytical equipment.

These so-called smart polymers are constantly being developed, broadening their scope in the detection of chemicals for applications related to the biomedical, environmental, food, and civil security fields. This growing research area motivates the launch of this Special Issue, aimed to discuss the latest research on the preparation of smart polymers as sensing materials for the detection of different target molecules in different application fields.

This Special Issue topic is directly related with Chemosensors scope considering that it is based in the development, fabrication and study of applications of materials for chemical sensing, that can include classical sensing topics such as gas sensors, electronic noses, ph and/or humidity sensors, enzyme sensors… etc.

Dr. Miriam Trigo-López
Dr. Aránzazu Mendía
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the Special Issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Chemosensors is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2000 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.