Imprinted polymer based sensor system for herbicides using differential-pulse voltammetry on screen printed electrodes

A sensor system for the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid has been developed based on specific recognition of the analyte by a molecularly imprinted polymer and electrochemical detection using disposable screen-printed electrodes. The method involves a competitive binding step with a nonrelated electrochemically active probe. For batch binding assays, imprinted polymer particles are incubated in suspension with the analyte and the probe, followed by centrifugation and quantification of the unbound probe in die supernatant. Two different compounds, namely 2,4-dichlorophenol and homogentisic acid, were tested as potential electroactive probes. Both compounds could be conveniently detected by differential-pulse voltammetry on screen-printed, solvent-resistant three-electrode systems having carbon working electrodes. Whereas 2,4-dichlorophenol showed very high nonspecific binding to the polymer, homogentisic acid bound specifically to the imprinted sites and thus allowed calibration curves for the analyte in the micromolar range to be recorded. An integrated sensor was developed by coating the imprinted polymer particles directly onto the working electrode. Following incubation of the modified electrode in a solution containing the analyte and the probe, the bound fraction of the probe is quantified. This system provides a cheap, disposable sensor for rapid determination of environmentally relevant and other analytes.