Molecularly imprinted nanoparticles-based electrochemical sensor for determination of ultratrace parathion in real samples

Molecularly imprinted polymer nanoparticles (nano-MIP), containing parathion selective sites, were synthesized by using suspension polymerization in silicon oil and then used for carbon paste electrode preparation. The obtained electrode was applied as an electrochemical sensor for parathion determination in different fruit and vegetable samples. Different factors including electrode composition, conditions of parathion extraction in the electrode and electrochemical measurement conditions were evaluated and then optimized by using various techniques of screening and response surface experimental designs. Electrode response to parathion (Res₁) and its selectivity for parathion (Res₂) were the desired responses. These responses were optimized simultaneously. After optimization, a sensor with high selectivity and picomolar detection limit were obtained. It was shown that the sensor response to parathion concentration was linear in the concentration range of 0.05 to 150?nmol?L^?1. The detection limit of designed sensor was calculated equal to 0.02?nmol?L^?1. The developed determination method was properly used for ultra-trace level assay of parathion in different fruit and cabbage samples.     

Derivatization of 2-chlorophenol with 4-amino-anti-pyrine: a novel method for improving the selectivity of molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction of 2-chlorophenol from water

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) may not selectively recognize small template of limited number of functional groups, such as 2-chlorophenol (2-CP). In this work, a novel method was proposed to improve the recognition ability of the molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MISPE) of 2-CP from environmental waters. This was achieved by derivatization of 2-CP with 4-amino-anti-pyrine (4-AAP) to enlarge its molecular size and add more binding sites. For that purpose, two MISPE methods of 2-CP were developed. In method 1, a polymer imprinted with 2-CP was used as the extracting sorbent but it suffered from low selectivity and high detection limit of 2-CP (7.10 ng L⁻¹). In method 2, a polymer imprinted with 4-AAP derivatized 2-CP (2-CP-4-AAP) was used as the extracting sorbent. Prior to loading the water sample it was subjected to a simple derivatization procedure with 4-AAP. Method 2 showed high recognition ability/selectivity towards 2-CP-4-AAP with lower detection limit of 0.05 ng L⁻¹ for 2-CP-4-AAP. Method 2 was able to detect the presence of 2-CP-4-AAP in unspiked real water samples and almost full spike recovery was achieved.     

New highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay for the determination of pravastatin in human plasma

New highly sensitive enzyme immunoassay (EIA) has been developed and validated for the determination of pravastatin (PRV) in human plasma samples. PRV was coupled to keyhole limpt hemocyanin (KLH) and bovine serum albumin (BSA) via its terminal carboxylic acid group by carbodiimide reagent. PRV-KLH conjugate was used as an immunogen for raising anti-PRV polyclonal antibody in rabbits. The generated anti-PRV antibody recognized PRV with high affinity and selectivity. PRV-BSA conjugate was immobilized onto microwell plates and used as a solid phase. The assay involved a competitive binding reaction between PRV, in plasma sample, and the immobilized PRV-BSA for the binding sites on a limited amount of the anti-PRV antibody. The anti-PRV antibody bound to the plate wells was quantified with horseradish peroxidase-labeled anti-immunoglobulin second anti-rabbit IgG antibody and 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine as a substrate for the peroxidase enzyme. The concentration of PRV in the sample was quantified by its ability to inhibit the binding of the anti-PRV antibody to the immobilized PRV-BSA and subsequently the color development in the assay wells. The conditions of the proposed EIA were investigated and the optimum conditions were employed in the determination of PRV in plasma samples. The assay limit of detection was 0.2 ng mL⁻¹ and the effective working range at relative standard deviation (RSD) of ≤5% was 0.5-20 ng mL⁻¹. The mean analytical recovery of PRV from spiked plasma was 100.9 ± 2.98%. The precision of the assay was satisfactory; RSD was 2.61-3.70 and 3.96-4.17% for intra- and inter-assay precision, respectively. The analytical procedure is convenient, and one can analyze ∼200 samples per working day, facilitating the processing of large-number batch of samples. The proposed EIA has a great value in the routine analysis of PRV in plasma samples for its therapeutic monitoring and pharmacokinetic studies.     

High Selective Parathion Voltammetric Sensor Development by Using an Acrylic Based Molecularly Imprinted Polymer‐Carbon Paste Electrode

The design and construction of an extra high selective voltammetric sensor for parathion by using a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as recognition element was introduced. A parathion selective MIP and a nonimprinted polymer (NIP) were synthesized and then incorporated in the carbon paste electrode. The MIP‐CP electrode showed very high recognition ability in comparison to NIP‐CP. It was shown that electrode washing after parathion extraction, led to enhanced selectivity. Some parameters affecting the sensor response were optimized and then the calibration curve was plotted. A dynamic linear range of 1.7–900 nM was obtained. The detection limit of the sensor was calculated as 0.5 nM. This sensor was used successfully for parathion determination in real samples such as ground water and vegetables.     

One‐step polymerization of hydrophilic ionic liquid imprinted polymer in water for selective separation and detection of levofloxacin from environmental matrices

A novel green hydrophilic levofloxacin imprinted polymer was presented via one‐step polymerization in water using ionic liquid 1,6‐hexa‐3,3′‐bis‐1‐vinylimidazolium bromine with multiple hydrophilic groups and 2‐hydroxyethyl methacrylate as a co‐functional monomer. Adsorption experiment revealed that the ionic liquid significantly improved the water compatible of imprinted polymer, and the excellent recognition of molecularly imprinted polymer for levofloxacin in water corresponds to the synergetic effect of H‐bonding and the electrostatic and π–π interactions between the levofloxacin and co‐functional monomer. Furthermore, the adsorption process of the imprinted material towards levofloxacin fitted the Langmuir model, and the maximum binding amount of levofloxacin onto the imprinted and corresponding non‐imprinted polymer were 16.45 and 6.82 mg/g at 25°C, respectively. After optimizing the parameters affecting solid phase extraction performance, an enrichment and determination system was achieved to separate and detect levofloxacin from water and sediment samples with recoveries that ranged from 83.67 to 101.33% and relative standard deviation of less than 5.59%.     

对硫磷分子印迹聚合物制备及其在水质检测中的应用

为了有效的分离富集水样中有机磷农药,以对硫磷为模板、三羟甲基丙烷三丙烯酸酯为交联剂,采用紫外聚合方法制备了对硫磷分子印迹聚合物(MIP)。利用紫外光谱、红外光谱研究了对硫磷与不同功能单体间作用力及印迹聚合物的结合位点。利用该MIP,建立MIP-固相萃取-气相色谱法测定水中痕量对硫磷,方法的检出限(3S/N)为0.48μg/L,加标回收率为86.2%～115.7%,相对标准偏差(n=6)为3.0%～6.6%。     

Determination of umbilical cord and maternal plasma concentrations of fentanyl by using novel spectrophotometric and chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassays

Two novel enzyme immunoassays of fentanyl have been developed using Horseradish Peroxidase (HRP) as an enzyme, 3,3′,5,5′tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) and luminol as its colorimetric and its chemiluminescence substrate, respectively. A fentanyl polyclonal antibody was used as a capture antibody for fentanyl and fentanyl-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugate. The latter was first biotinylated and then bound by streptavidin labeled with HRP, resulting in the development of two novel competitive immunoassays. The detection limits were 0.045 and 0.0048 ng ml⁻¹ for spectrophotometric and chemiluminescence detection, respectively, and were much lower than existing HRP-fentanyl based kits. Intra- and inter-assay CVs were 2.6-4.5 and 5.4-11.2%, respectively, at concentrations of 0.050-5.000 ng ml⁻¹ for the colorimetric assay, whilst for the chemiluminescent assay intra- and inter-assay CVs were 3.7-6.2 and 6.2-12.3%, respectively, for the linear range of the assay at concentrations of 0.008-0.800 ng ml⁻¹. The methods in this study were developed in order to measure maternal and neonatal fentanyl plasma samples during cesarean section, after the application of a novel subarachnoid analgesia technique. The 28 maternal and neonatal plasma samples were measured by both assays, providing data for subarachnoid administration of fentanyl that had never been presented before.     

Selective pretreatment and determination of phenazopyridine using an imprinted polymer-electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry system

In this research, selective separation and determination of phenazopyridine (PAP) is demonstrated using molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) coupled with electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS). In the non-covalent approach, selective MIP produced using PAP and methacrylic acid (MAA) as a template molecule and monomer, respectively. The created polymer is utilized as a media for solid-phase extraction (SPE), revealing selective binding properties for the analyte from pharmaceutical and serum samples. A coupled MIP-IMS makes it possible to quantitize PAP in the range of 1-100 ng mL⁻¹ and with a 0.2 ng mL⁻¹ detection limit. Furthermore, the MIP selectivity is evaluated by application of some substances with analogous and different molecular structures to that of PAP. This method is successfully applied for the determination of PAP in pharmaceutical and serum samples.     

Direct detection of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol in saliva using a novel homogeneous competitive immunoassay with fluorescence quenching

For the detection of the major active component of cannabis, Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in aqueous samples, a homogeneous competitive immunoassay based on fluorescence quenching induced by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) has been developed. The fluorescence of anti-THC-antibody, labeled with fluorescence dye DY-481XL, can be quenched after its binding to THC-BSA-quencher conjugate (bovine serum albumin coupled with THC and another fluorescence dye, DYQ-661, as quencher). This quenching effect is inhibited when the antibodies bind to free THC in aqueous sample, thus competing for binding sites with the THC-BSA-quencher conjugate. The extent of the inhibition corresponds to the concentration of THC in the samples. The assay principle is simple and the test duration is within 10 min. The detection limit for THC in buffer was 2 ng mL⁻¹. In pooled saliva samples a detection limit of 50 ng mL⁻¹ was achieved.     

Multivariate optimization of molecularly imprinted polymer solid-phase extraction applied to parathion determination in different water samples

In this work a parathion selective molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized and applied as a high selective adsorber material for parathion extraction and determination in aqueous samples. The method was based on the sorption of parathion in the MIP according to simple batch procedure, followed by desorption by using methanol and measurement with square wave voltammetry. Plackett-Burman and Box-Behnken designs were used for optimizing the solid-phase extraction, in order to enhance the recovery percent and improve the pre-concentration factor. By using the screening design, the effect of six various factors on the extraction recovery was investigated. These factors were: pH, stirring rate (rpm), sample volume (V₁), eluent volume (V₂), organic solvent content of the sample (org%) and extraction time (t). The response surface design was carried out considering three main factors of (V₂), (V₁) and (org%) which were found to be main effects. The mathematical model for the recovery percent was obtained as a function of the mentioned main effects. Finally the main effects were adjusted according to the defined desirability function. It was found that the recovery percents more than 95% could be easily obtained by using the optimized method. By using the experimental conditions, obtained in the optimization step, the method allowed parathion selective determination in the linear dynamic range of 0.20-467.4 μg L⁻¹, with detection limit of 49.0 ng L⁻¹ and R.S.D. of 5.7% (n = 5). Parathion content of water samples were successfully analyzed when evaluating potentialities of the developed procedure.     

Dipstick based immunochemiluminescence biosensor for the analysis of vitamin B12 in energy drinks: A novel approach

In this article, we describe a dipstick based immunochemiluminescence (immuno-CL) biosensor for the detection of vitamin B₁₂ in energy drinks. The method is a direct competitive type format involving the immobilization of vitamin B₁₂ antibody on nitrocellulose membrane (NC) followed by treatment with vitamin B₁₂ and vitamin B₁₂–alkaline phosphatase conjugate to facilitate the competitive binding. The dipstick was further treated with substrate disodium 2-chloro-5-(4-methoxyspiro {1,2-dioxetane-3,2¢-(5¢-chloro)tricyclo[3.3.1.13,7]decan}-4-yl)-1-phenyl phosphate (CDP-Star) to generate chemiluminescence (CL). The number of photons generated was inversely proportional to the vitamin B₁₂ concentration. After systematic optimization, the limit of detection was 1 ng mL⁻¹. The coefficient of variation was below 0.2% for both intra- and inter-assay precision. Vitamin B₁₂ was extracted from energy drinks with recovery ranged from 90 to 99.4%. Two different energy drinks samples were analyzed, and a good correlation was observed when the data were compared with a reference enzyme linked immuno sorbent assay (ELISA) method. The developed method is suitable for an accurate, sensitive, and high-throughput screening of vitamin B₁₂ in energy drinks samples. The dipstick technique based on immuno-CL is suitable for the detection of several analyte in food and environmental samples.     

A novel molecularly imprinted polymer for simultaneous extraction and determination of sudan dyes by on-line solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography

A novel molecularly imprinted polymer was synthesized with attapulgite employed as matrix, which is simple and time-saving. In this method, sudan I was chosen as template molecule, 2-vinylpyridine as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as cross-linking agent, respectively. The imprinted polymer was characterized by the infrared spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Then the selectivity experiments were performed on sudan dyes and the recognition coefficients for sudan I, sudan II, sudan III and sudan IV were 2.9, 1.9, 1.9 and 2.3, respectively. As the packing material of solid-phase extraction, the imprinted polymer has been applied to on-line concentration of the four sudan dyes in samples from Yellow River water, tomato sauce and sausage. The corresponding analytical methods to determine these sudan dyes have been developed. The limits of detection for these sudan dyes were in the range of 0.01–0.05 ng mL⁻¹ for Yellow River water, 1.0–3.0 ng g⁻¹ for tomato sauce and 0.8–3.0 ng g⁻¹ for sausage.     

Preparation of magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer for rapid determination of bisphenol A in environmental water and milk samples

A magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (M-MIP) of bisphenol A (BPA) was prepared by miniemulsion polymerization. The morphological and magnetic characteristics of the M-MIP were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and vibrating sample magnetometry. The adsorption capacities of the M-MIP and the nonimprinted polymer were investigated using static adsorption tests, and were found to be 390 and 270 mg g⁻¹, respectively. Competitive recognition studies of the M-MIP were performed with BPA and the structurally similar compound DES, and the M-MIP displayed high selectivity for BPA. A method based on molecularly imprinted solid-phase extraction assisted by magnetic separation was developed to extract BPA from environmental water and milk samples. Various parameters such as the mass of sorbent, the pH of the sample, the extraction time, and desorption conditions were optimized. Under selected conditions, extraction was completed in 15 min. High-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection was employed to determine BPA after the extraction. For water samples, the developed method exhibited a limit of detection (LOD) of 14 ng L⁻¹, a relative standard deviation of 2.7% (intraday), and spiked recoveries ranging from 89% to 106%. For milk samples, the LOD was 0.16 μg L⁻¹, recoveries ranged from 95% to 101%, and BPA was found in four samples at levels of 0.45–0.94 μg L⁻¹. The proposed method not only provides a rapid and reliable analysis but it also overcomes problems with conventional solid-phase extraction (SPE), such as the packing of the SPE column and the time-consuming nature of the process of loading large-volume samples.     

Hapten design and indirect competitive immunoassay for parathion determination: correlation with molecular modeling and principal component analysis

A novel procedure for parathion hapten design is described. The optimal antigen for parathion was selected after molecular modeling studies of six types of potentially immunizing haptens with the aim to identify the best mimicking target analyte. Heterologous competitive indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was developed after screening a battery of competitors as coating antigens. The relationship between the heterology degree of the competitor and the resulting immunoassay detectability was investigated according to the electronic similarities of the competitor haptens and the target analyte. Molecular modeling and principal component analysis were performed to understand the electronic distribution and steric parameters of the haptens at their minimum energetic levels. The results suggested that the competitors should have a high heterology to produce assays with good detectability values. An indirect competitive ELISA was finally selected for further investigation. The immunoassay had an IC₅₀ value of 4.79 ng mL⁻¹ and a limit of detection of 0.31 ng mL⁻¹. There was little or no cross-reactivity to similar compounds tested except for the insecticide parathion-methyl, which showed a cross-reactivity of 7.8%.     

Use of a bisphenol-A imprinted polymer as a selective sorbent for the determination of phenols and phenoxyacids in honey by liquid chromatography with diode array and tandem mass spectrometric detection

An extraction-preconcentration procedure based on the use of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as selective sorbent has been developed for the determination of several phenolic compounds (bisphenol-A, bisphenol-F and 4-nitrophenol) and phenoxyacid herbicides (2,4-D, 2,4,5-T and 2,4,5-TP) in honey samples. Liquid chromatography with diode array detection (LC-DAD) and electrospray ionisation-ion trap mass spectrometry (LC-IT-MS) were used for the separation, identification and quantification of these analytes.The molecularly imprinted polymer was obtained by precipitation polymerisation with bisphenol-A (BPA) as template and 4-vinylpyridine as the functional monomer. The behaviour of this sorbent was compared with those of other materials frequently used in SPE. The selectivity of the BPA-MIP for the target analytes was tested in samples containing other pesticides in common use. The recoveries achieved for all six compounds were in the 81-96% range.By applying the proposed procedure prior to LC-IT-MS, the limits of detection achieved in commercial honey samples were in the 0.1-3.8 ng g⁻¹ range, with relative standard deviations of 12-24%.     

Development of a Biomimetic Enzyme‐linked Immunosorbent Assay Method for the Determination of Methimazole in Urine Sample

A fast and direct competitive biomimetic enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (BELISA) method was developed for the determination of methimazole (MMZ) in urine sample based on a molecularly imprinted film as an artificial antibody. This is the first example to monitor methimazole with a direct competitive biomimetic enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (BELISA) method. The imprinted film was directly synthesized on the well surface of MaxiSorp polystyrene 96‐well plate and characterized. The results showed that it exhibited an antibody‐like binding ability, rapid adsorption speed, high stability, which was particularly advantageous and suitable for BELISA development. The BELISA method established in this paper had a higher selectivity for MMZ than for the structurally related compounds and the IC₅₀ (calculated as the concentration giving 50% inhibition of color development) and the detection limit values under optimized experimental conditions were 70 ± 4 μg L^‐1 and 0.9 ± 0.04 μg L^‐1, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of MMZ in spiked urine sample with excellent recoveries ranging from 90% to 95%, and the imprinted film was able to be reused for 20 times without loss of sensitivity. The results obtained by BELISA correlated well with that obtained by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method.     

The application of pseudo template molecularly imprinted polymer to the solid-phase extraction of cyromazine and its metabolic melamine from egg and milk

The combination of molecularly imprinted polymer with high performance liquid chromatography has been developed to determine cyromazine and its metabolic melamine in some samples. However, the potential risk of template leakage used in molecularly imprinted polymer is a major disadvantage. To solve this problem, 2-(4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazin-2-ylamino) ethanethiol disulfide, a molecule that shares the similar imprinting sites with cyromazine and melamine, was selected as pseudo template to prepare molecularly imprinted polymer. Methacrylic acid, ethylene glycol dimethyl acrylate and toluene were selected as functional monomer, crosslinker and porogen, respectively. The molecular recognition property and binding capability of cyromazine and melamine were evaluated by adsorption test and Scatchard analysis. The results showed that the molecularly imprinted polymer based on pseudo template had more excellent affinity and selectivity for cyromazine and melamine. The resulting molecularly imprinted polymer was used as a solid-phase extraction material to enrich cyromazine and melamine in egg and milk samples for high performance liquid chromatography analysis. The solid-phase extraction process was carefully optimized. It was found that when different concentration of cyromazine and melamine standards were spiked into samples, satisfactory recovery rate of cyromazine and melamine were obtained as 85.6-98.8% with relative standard deviation <5.5%.     

Selective solid-phase extraction of bisphenol A using molecularly imprinted polymers and its application to biological and environmental samples

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were prepared using bisphenol A (BPA) as a template by precipitation polymerization. The polymer that had the highest binding selectivity and ability was used as solid-phase extraction (SPE) sorbents for direct extraction of BPA from different biological and environmental samples (human serum, pig urine, tap water and shrimp). The extraction protocol was optimized and the optimum conditions were as follows: conditioning with 5 mL methanol–acetic acid (3:1), 5 mL methanol, 5 mL acetonitrile and 5 mL water, respectively, loading with 5 mL aqueous samples, washing with 1 mL acetonitrile, and eluting with 3 mL methanol. MIPs can selectively recognize, effectively trap and preconcentrate BPA over a concentration range of 2–20 μM. Recoveries ranged from 94.03 to 105.3 %, with a relative standard deviation lower than 7.9 %. Under the optimal condition, molecularly imprinted SPE recoveries of spiked human serum, pig urine, tap water and shrimp were 65.80, 82.32, 76.00 and 75.97 %, respectively, when aqueous samples were applied directly. Compared with C18 SPE, a better baseline, better high-performance liquid chromatography separation efficiency and higher recoveries were achieved after molecularly imprinted SPE.      

Generic simple enzyme immunoassay approach to avert small molecule immobilization problems on solid phases: Application to the determination of tobramycin in serum

Generic simple and sensitive universal enzyme immunoassay approach for the determination of small analytes has been developed to avert the problems associated with small molecule immobilization onto solid phases. The developed assay employed a heterogeneous non-competitive binding format. The assay used anti-analyte antibody coupled to polyacrylamide beads as a solid-phase and β-d-galactosidase enzyme-labeled analyte as a label. In this assay, the analyte in a sample was firstly incubated to react with an excess of the antibody-coupled beads, and then the unoccupied antibody binding sites were allowed to react with the enzyme-labeled analyte. Analyte bound to the antibody-coupled beads was separated by centrifugation, and the enzyme activity of the supernatant was measured spectrophotometrically at 420 nm, after reaction with 4-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside as a substrate for the enzyme. The signal was directly proportional to the concentration of analyte in the sample. The optimum conditions for the developed assay were established and applied to the determination of tobramycin, as a representative example of the small analytes, in serum samples. The assay limit of detection was 10 ng mL⁻¹ and the effective working range at relative standard deviation of ≤10% was 40-800 ng mL⁻¹. The assay precisions were acceptable; the relative standard deviations were 4.36-5.17 and 5.62-7.40% for intra- and inter-assay precision, respectively. Analytical recovery of tobramycin spiked in serum ranged from 95.89 ± 4.25 to 103.45 ± 4.60%. The assay results correlated well with those obtained by high-performance liquid chromatography (r = 0.992). The assay described herein has great practical value in determination of small analytes because it is sensitive, rapid, and easy to perform in any laboratory. Although the assay was validated for tobramycin, however, it is also anticipated that the same methodology could be used for essentially any analyte for which a selective antibody exists, and an appropriate enzyme conjugate can be made.     

Grafting of Molecularly Imprinted Polymers on to Carboxyl-Modified Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes for the Extraction of Rhodamine B from Dried Chili Powder

Molecularly imprinted polymers grafted on to the surface of carboxyl-modified multiwalled carbon nanotubes were developed using methacrylic acid as a functional monomer and trihydroxymethylpropyl trimethylacrylate as a crosslinker for application to rhodamine B determination. The synthesis, characteristics, and evaluation of the molecularly imprinted polymer are described. The apparent morphology of the polymers was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. To evaluate the binding ability of the molecularly imprinted polymers, equilibrium binding experiments were conducted and revealed the maximal binding capacity to be 561.54 µg g^?1. The introduction of nanomaterials into the polymer composite made important contributions to the affinity enhancement and recognition properties of the molecularly imprinted polymers. Moreover, the polymers were preliminarily applied as an adsorbent for separation and extraction of Rhodamine B from dried chili powder samples, based on solid phase extraction technology. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0–7 µg mL^?1. For all tested samples, recoveries were reliable and in the range of 101.75–109.73%. The relative standard deviation ranged from 6.43–14.32%, which demonstrated that the polymer has potential for preconcentration of Rhodamine B from chili powder samples.