Molecularly imprinted polymer Based PVC-Membrane-Coated graphite electrode for the determination of metoprolol

A PVC-based membrane containing metoprolol molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) coated directly on graphite electrode for the determination of metoprolol in real samples is reported. This potentiometric sensor was designed by dispersing the MIP particles in dioctylphthalate plasticizer as solvent mediator and then embedded in polyvinyl chloride matrix. The electrode exhibited a near-Nernstian slope of 55.4 ± 1 mV decade^-1 for metoprolol over a wide concentration range between 2.0 × 10^-7-8.0 × 10^-3 M and a detection limit of 1.3 × 10^-7 M. With a response time of about 14 s it could be used for at least 6 months without any divergence in potential. The proposed electrode can be used in the pH range of 3.5-10.5 and can reveal good selectivities for metoprolol over a wide variety of ions. Finally, the designed sensor was successfully applied as an indicator electrode to determine the concentration of metoprolol in tablets, human urine and plasma. The results were compared favorably with those obtained by HPLC method and showed satisfactory agreements with them.