Ultratrace Detection of Histamine Using a Molecularly-Imprinted Polymer-Based Voltammetric Sensor

Abstract

Rapid and cost-effective analysis of histamine, in food, environmental, and diagnostics research has been of interest recently. However, for certain applications, the already-existing biological receptor-based sensing methods have usage limits in terms of stability and costs. As a result, robust and cost-effective imprinted polymeric receptors can be the best alternative. In the present work, molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) for histamine were synthesized using methacrylic acid in chloroform and acetonitrile as two different porogens. The binding affinity of the MIPs with histamine was evaluated in aqueous media. MIPs synthesized in chloroform displayed better imprinting properties for histamine. We demonstrate here histamine MIPs incorporated into a carbon paste (CP) electrode as a MIP-CP electrode sensor platforms for detection of histamine. This simple sensor format allows accurate determination of histamine in the sub-nanomolar range using an electrochemical method. The sensor exhibited two distinct linear response ranges of 1 × 10−10–7 × 10−9 M and 7 × 10−9–4 × 10−7 M. The detection limit of the sensor was calculated equal to 7.4 × 10−11 M. The specificity of the proposed electrode for histamine is demonstrated by using the analogous molecules and other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, etc. The MIP sensor was investigated with success on spiked serum samples. The easy preparation, simple procedure, and low production cost make the MIP sensor attractive for selective and sensitive detection of analytes, even in less-equipped laboratories with minimal training.

Sensors Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers

“…Wide number of analytes can be determined by sensors having sensitivity given due to MIPs. Bovine serum albumin using electrochemistry [78], acid green 16 textile dye isolation in an solid phase extraction [79], dacarbazine by electrochemistry [80], timolol by voltammetry [81], mosapride citrate by voltammetry [82], diniconazole by colorimetry/fluorimetry [83], cocaine by potentiometry [84], cinchonine by electrochemiluminescence [85], malachite green by fluorimetry [86], clenbuterol by piezoelectric microbalance [87], histamine by voltammetry [88], bisphenol A by electrochemical techniques [89] can be mentioned. Detailed examples of MIPs are given in following examples and overview is written as table 3.…”

Diamine oxidase-modified screen-printed electrode for the redox-mediated determination of histamine

“…These sensors usually require the pre-treatment of the electrodes and the use of metals, polymers, and/or nanomaterials, which increases the cost and construction time. Sensors based on electrodes modified with enzymes (Apetrei and Apetrei 2016;Gumpu et al 2014;Pérez et al 2013;Zeng et al 2000), molecularly imprinted polymers (Akhoundian et al 2017;Basozabal et al 2014) and antibodies (Dong et al 2017) are usually more selective due to the incorporation of a recognition element. However, the immobilization of these elements is often a complex and time-consuming task (Akhoundian et al 2017;Apetrei and Apetrei 2016;Basozabal et al 2014;Dong et al 2017;Gumpu et al 2014;Pérez et al 2013;Zeng et al 2000).…”

Cellulose‐Based Substrate for SERS‐Promoted Histamine Picomolar Detection in Beverages

“…All these techniques are expensive and time consuming, furthermore these approaches require expert technicians . So, in recent years, researchers have focused their attention for the development of alternative detection systems of histamine and amines in general, based on, for instance, spectroscopic approaches ,. Among these, applications of Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS) are exponentially increasing for food analysis due to high sensitivity, simplicity, short analysis time with easy sample preparation procedures, relatively low cost of analysis and instrumentation and, finally, for the possibility to realize portable instrument that can be used in situ for the analysis of real sample,, paramount aspect for analysis of beverages and foodstuff.…”