Electrochemical sensor for paracetamol recognition and detection based on catalytic and imprinted composite film

A new strategy for a composite film based electrochemical sensor was developed in this work. A layer of conductive film of poly(p-aminobenzene sulfonic acid) (pABSA) was electropolymerized onto glassy carbon electrode surface and exhibited a high electrocatalytic active for paracetamol (PR) redox. The subsequent formation of a layer of molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) film on pABSA modified electrode endowed the sensor with plentiful imprinted cavities for PR specific adsorption. The advantages of the composite film made the prepared sensor display high sensitivity and good selectivity for PR detection and recognition. Under the optimal conditions, the sensor could recognize PR from its interferents. A linear ranging from 5.0×10−8 to 1.0×10−4 mol/L for PR detection was obtained with a detection limit of 4.3×10−8 mol/L. The sensor has been applied to analyze PR in tablets and human urine samples with satisfactory results. The simple, low cost, and efficient strategy reported here can be further used to prepare electrochemical sensors for other compounds recognition and detection.