A new potentiometric sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer for analysis of a veterinary drug imidocarb dipropionate

Abstract

A new potentiometric sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was fabricatedfor the recognition and determination of imidocarb dipropionate. The MIP was synthesizedusing imidocarb as the template material, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer, andethylene glycol dimethacrylate as a cross linking agent. The sensor showed a high selectivityand a sensitive response to the template molecule in aqueous solution. The MIP‐electrodeexhibited a near‐Nernstian response in a wide concentration range 10‐5 ‐ 10‐2 M with a lowerdetection limit of 2×10‐6 M. The potentiometric conditions were carefully studied and allmeasuring parameters were optimized including pH, buffer type, plasticizer type, responsetime and stability. The applicability of the sensor was tested through potentiometricdetermination of imidocarb dipropionate in pure drug as well as in pharmaceuticalformulation. The proposed method was statistically compared with a reported one showingno significant difference regarding accuracy and precision, which assured a good reliablenovel sensor for imidocarb estimation.