A gold nanoparticles-based molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for histamine specific-recognition and determination

Histamine (HIS) is a major biogenic amine, and high levels can cause intolerance or poisoning. Thus, it is imperative to monitor HIS levels in foods due to potential side effects. In this study, a molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor was developed for HIS determination. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) were electrodeposited onto glassy carbon electrode (GCE) surface, and a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) layer was then immobilized onto the AuNPs-based electrode using the electropolymerization method. HIS was used as the template molecule and p-aminobenzene sulfonic acid (p-ABSA) as the functional monomer. The fabricated electrochemical sensor was characterized and its electrochemical behavior towards HIS was investigated. Under optimized conditions, the prepared sensor displayed the linear relationships for the concentrations of HIS from 1.0 to 40.0 mu M and 40.0 to107.0 mu M, with a detection limit of 0.6 mu M (LOD = 3S/N). The electrode modified with the imprinted nanocomposite also exhibited excellent selectivity and sensitivity for the HIS determination compared with the electrochemical detection capability of previously reported sensors. The performance enhancement of the prepared sensor can be attributed to the highly matched imprinted cavities on the AuNPs with high conductivity and excellent electrocatalytic matrix. Besides, the proposed sensor was successfully used for HIS detection in alcohoic beverages (beer and wine) and the recoveries were found to be 89.6-100.2% (RSDs = 0.4-5.4%) and 87.4-103.9% (RSDs = 0.1-0.8%), respectively. The results were in agreement with those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method, illustrating that this methodology was appropriate and reliable for HIS detection in beer and wine samples.