Separation Processes in the Presence of Cyclodextrins Using Molecular Imprinting Technology and Ionic Liquid Cooperating Approach

Recently, separation science in the presence of cyclodextrins (CDs) has been paid more and more attention. Two important technologies based on CDs, molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and ionic liquid (IL) cooperating approach, have been studied extensively and not been reviewed. MIPs are significant and important in separation processes. MIPs based on cyclodextrins (CD-MIPs) take advantage of unique properties of cyclodextrins and are applied in the separation of various molecules. Different methods for preparation CD-MIPs and supramolecular interactions in the systems are reviewed. Furthermore, ILs have been also widely used in separation science. Cooperative effect of CDs and ILs together for separation usage is discussed in this paper. The related separation techniques are mainly capillary electrophoresis (CE) and gas chromatography (GC). CD-MIPs and cooperative effect of ILs in separation methods, which are two important aspects in cyclodextrins separation science, are summarized here. It is hoped that the discussion on the above two topics will stimulate further research.