In this work, composite imprinted membranes prepared via photoinitiated surface modification of PVDF and PES microfiltration membranes were used for selective recognition of the template compounds desmetryn, ibuprofen and bisphenol A in aqueous solutions. Atomic force microscopy was used to study the surface morphological characteristics of the synthesized membranes. The selective properties of the obtained membranes were evaluated. It was shown that imprinted membranes may be used as synthetic recognising elements in a portative differential capacitor sensor device for express monitoring of the target molecules in water. The sensor performance is based on registration of the alteration of dielectric permeability of a composite imprinted membrane at selective binding of the template molecules, when the analyzed water sample is filtered through the composite imprinted membrane. The effects of pH and ionic strength of the aqueous solution, as well as side organic compounds on the sensor response were studied. It was shown that the developed measuring system may be used for express preliminary water control for target organic pollutants in so called "systems of early monitoring". (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.