This symposium proceeding contains papers presented at Symposium M, "Molecularly Imprinted Materials," and Symposium O, "Chemical and Biological Sensors - Materials and Devices," held April 2-5 at the 2002 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco, California. Symposium M was the first of its kind at a Materials Research Society Meeting. The symposium consisted of 17 talks and 15 posters and brought together a number of scientists in the field to discuss the current state of the art in molecular imprinting. Topics included microfabrication, imprinted membranes, and nanoparticles, covalent and non-covalent methods of molecular imprinting, separate technology, and sensor applications. Symposium O contained 45 presentations that covered topics that included microfluidics and sensing systems, sensor arrays and devices, sensing with nanoparticles, monolayers, bilayers, cells, and silicon.

This volume contains the proceedings of two symposia held at the 2002 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco. Molecular imprinting (MI) technology has attracted much attention and enjoyed tremendous development over the past decade. MI technology enables the preparation of materials with host sites that recognize specific guest molecules, analogous to the "lock-and-key" paradigm of antibodies and enzymes. Advantages of molecularly imprinted materials include: a degree of specificity approaching that of antibodies but with much greater temporal and thermal stability; rapid development because precise molecular design and chemical synthesis are unnecessary; and wide applicability because materials may be imprinted with almost any shape-persistent analyte of interest. Papers from Symposium M, "Molecularly Imprinted Materials, focus primarily on the fabrication of functional materials and devices based on MI materials. Studies are presented not only by experts in MI, but more importantly, by materials scientists integrating molecular imprinting with cutting-edge techniques in microfabrication and nanotechnology.

This volume combines the proceedings of Symposium K, Materials and Devices for Optoelectronics and Photonics, and Symposium L, Photonic Crystals--From Materials to Devices, both from the 2002 MRS Spring Meeting in San Francisco. The two symposia served as a unique meeting place where a community of materials scientists and device-oriented engineers could present their latest results. Papers from Symposium K concentrate on materials for solid-state lighting, with particular emphasis on nitrides and other high-bandgap semiconductors and quantum dots, as well as materials for optical waveguides and interconnects. Presentations from Symposium L discuss theoretical methods and materials and fabrication techniques for 2D and 3D photonic crystals, with special emphasis on tunability of photonic crystals.

The availability of materials that can bind selectively to a target molecule is the key to unlocking a host of new technologies. Molecular imprinting is an established technology, which allows the synthesis of materials containing highly specific receptor sites having an affinity for a target compound. For example, molecularly imprinted materials can mimic some of the functions of enzymes through the creation of three-dimensional cavities of specific size and shape for biorecognition of bioactive compounds. This volume offers a forum for technical exchange among members of the worldwide community of scientists and engineers who work in the area of molecular imprinting. Researchers from academia, government and industry present results in applications of molecular imprinting related to catalysis, combinatorial and computational methods, new monomers and recognition strategies, sensors, drug discovery and therapy, and new molecular imprinting formats.

Molecular imprinting is a rapidly growing field with wide-ranging applications, especially in the area of sensor development, where the process leads to improved sensitivity, reliability, stability, and reproducibility in sensing materials. Molecularly Imprinted Sensors in Analytical Chemistry addresses the most recent advances and challenges relating to molecularly imprinted polymer sensors, and is the only book to compile this information in a single source. From fundamentals to applications, this material will be valuable to researchers working in sensing technologies for pharmaceutical separation and chemical analysis, environmental monitoring and protection, defense and security, and healthcare. - Provides a systematic introduction to the different types of MIP-based sensors and reviews the basic principles behind each type of sensor - Includes state-of-the-art methodology supported by comparisons and discussions from leading experts in the field - Covers all types of sensing modes (optical, electrochemical, thermal, acoustic, etc.), materials and platforms - Appeals to a multidisciplinary audience of scientists and graduate students in a wide variety of fields, including chemistry, biology, biomedical science and engineering, and materials science and engineering

Molecular imprinting focuses on the fabrication of an artificial receptor with perfect molecular recognition abilities. It has attracted a great deal of scientific attention because of the enormous opportunities it opens in the fields of separation, catalysis, and analysis. The advantages of the molecular imprinting enable to target a wide class of substances ranging from small molecules to big conglomerates, such as proteins or even cells. In recent years, sensor applications based on molecular imprinting have started to attract greater attention because of the easy creation of robust receptor sites with high specificity and sensitivity toward a target compound. A collection of contributions from distinguised experts, Handbook of Molecular Imprinting: Advanced Sensor Applications provides a comprehensive overview on the specific challenges of molecular imprinting in sensor applications. It covers various molecular imprinting approaches. As a result, a perspective of future device ensembles for sensing is acquired. The text lays particular emphasis on fundamental aspects as well as novel ideas in the context of sensor applications. It also highlights the operation principles of various sensor transducers that are generally employed in combination with molecular imprinting recognition elements.