Tetracycline selective electrode based on molecularly imprinted polymer particles

Tetracycline selective electrode using molecularly imprinted polymer particles as quasi-ionophore was constructed the first time, and its performance was carefully characterized. Due to the specific recognition of tetracycline by the particles, the selectivity coefficients for routine interferences were less than 10−4. Benefited from the absence of tetracycline in the sensitive membrane and the optimized composition of the inner filling solution, the limit of detection of the electrode was reduced to about 2.5 × 10−8 mol/L. It exhibited a good electrode slope 57.6 mV/decade near the theoretical Nernstian one, with a wide linear working range from 6.0 × 10−8 to 1.0 × 10−3 mol/L. The fabricated electrode should be used in pH 2–4, response time of which was less than 200 s when the concentration of tetracycline was higher than 1.0 × 10−6 mol/L and no more than 30 min at the concentration of 1.0 × 10−8 mol/L.