The majority of pharmaceuticals are found in the environment
as
mixtures. However, a significant amount of these therapeutic compounds
cannot be completely metabolized by the human body; thus, they are
excreted through feces and urine and end up in wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs). The presence of pharmaceuticals and the degree to
which they can be removed during wastewater treatment are now important
research topics. Despite the adoption of various alternative technologies
for the treatment of wastewater, the adsorption process is still regarded
as a promising method due to its high efficiency, increased simplicity,
and lower costs. Recent developments in the adsorption process involve
the incorporation of an artificial molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP),
which is a potent molecular receptor capable of selectively recognizing
and removing pollutants. The MIP has advantageous characteristics,
which include high affinity, predetermination, high stability, ease
of preparation, and low cost. Notably, MIPs can be applied to the
cleanup and preconcentration of analytes as the selective adsorbent
of solid-phase extraction (SPE), magnetic solid phase extraction (MSPE),
and dispersive solid-phase extraction (dSPE). Furthermore, MIPs can
be produced as composite nanomaterials by employing nanoparticles
(nanoMIP). The advancements of MIPs employed as sorbent materials
for quantitative assessment and purification of pharmaceuticals in
environmental water have been given most of the focus. Therefore,
this study not only aims to present the fundamental ideas about the
application of MIPs as sorbents but also gives an overview of the
considerable initiatives made in recent years to enhance the performance
of MIPs. Considering this, various current approaches to the development
of MIP-based extraction techniques are detailed in the present review.
This review also demonstrates how kinetics, thermodynamics, and isotherm
models can be used to better understand the behavior of adsorbents
and the adsorption process.