A novel, molecularly imprinted polymer sensor made using an oligomeric methyl silsesquioxane-TiO2 composite sol on a glassy carbon electrode for the detection of procainamide hydrochloride

In this study, we designed a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), oligomeric methyl silsesquioxane (O-MSSQ)-TiO2 composite sol, which was made using a sol-gel reaction. This polymer has structural rigidity and high surface area of O-MSSQ, as well as high bio-compatibility and relatively good conductivity of the TiO2. Next, a sensitive and selective imprinted electrochemical sensor was successfully constructed for the direct detection of procainamide hydrochloride by molecularly imprinting a film onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode. Adding TiO2 resulted in a noticeable enhancement in the sensitivity of the MIP sensor. The performance of the O-MSSQ-TiO2 film was discussed, and the optimal conditions for detection were determined. The oxidative peak current increased linearly with the concentration of procainamide hydrochloride in the range of 4.00×10−9-4.97×10−5 M using differential pulse voltammetry, and the detection limit was 1.30×10−9 M with S/N=3. Furthermore, the sensor was applied to determine the procainamide hydrochloride content in a human blood serum sample. The recoveries of the sensors varied from 96.77% to 101.35%, indicating that the prepared sensor might be promising for the determination of procainamide hydrochloride in clinical tests. Moreover, the imprinted electrochemical sensor was used to selectively detect procainamide hydrochloride. The analytical application was conducted successfully and yielded accurate and precise results.