“…Therefore, only analytes with high p K a values can outcompete the bidentate binding and induce enhanced chemical stimulation of the MSP leading to emission loss followed by dissociation of the polymer structure. Therefore, only in the presence of piperidine, cocaine, fentanyl, and codeine with p K a of 11.2, 8.6, 8.4, and 8.2, respectively, the system reveals higher sensitivity in comparison to weaker base analytes, such as nicotinamide, clobazam, medetomidine, and ketamine with p K a of 3.3, 4.07, 7.2, and 7.5, respectively. As can be seen, although the p K a of medetomidine and ketamine is higher than the p K a of phenanthroline (p K a 4.86), the double binding capacity of phenanthroline prevents its substitution by medetomidine or ketamine.…”