Electrochemical impedimetric sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers/sol–gel chemistry for methidathion organophosphorous insecticide recognition

• Preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as a selective receptor to methidathion pesticides.
• Immobilization of synthesized MIP on the printed electrodes via the sol–gel process.
• Optimization of analytical performance of the device in PBS solution.
• Application of the developed sensor for the analysis of methidation in the real samples (tap water).

We report here a novel method to detect methidathion organophosphorous insecticides. The sensing platform was architected by the combination of molecularly imprinted polymers and sol–gel technique on inexpensive, portable and disposable screen printed carbon electrodes. Electrochemical impedimetric detection technique was employed to perform the label free detection of the target analyte on the designed MIP/sol–gel integrated platform. The selection of the target specific monomer by electrochemical impedimetric methods was consistent with the results obtained by the computational modelling method. The prepared electrochemical MIP/sol–gel based sensor exhibited a high recognition capability toward methidathion, as well as a broad linear range and a low detection limit under the optimized conditions. Satisfactory results were also obtained for the methidathion determination in waste water samples.

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