A novel molecularly imprinted polymer thin film as biosensor for uric acid

A novel amine–imide type conducting polymer, denoted as poly(PD–BCD), was molecularly imprinted on an indium–tin oxide (ITO) glass, with uric acid (UA) as the template and without any functional monomer. Intending to improve the imprinting efficiency, the polymer content was varied from 0.3 to 0.9 wt% during the preparation of the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), thereby varying the thickness of the polymer film; the content of UA as the template was maintained to be the same for all the films. The sensitivities of the thus prepared MIP electrodes were calculated to be more than 3-fold, compared to those of the corresponding non-MIP (NMIP) electrodes, which were obtained through the same method, however, without adding UA during their preparation. A polymer content of 0.6 wt% rendered the best performing MIP electrode, as judged by the imprinting efficiency and sensitivity of the electrode for UA. A linear relationship between steady-state currents and UA concentrations from 0 to 1.125 mM was obtained for both types of the sensors. The sensitivities of the MIP and the NMIP electrodes made with 0.6 wt% of polymer were calculated to be 24.72 and 6.63 μA mM−1 cm−2, respectively. The limit of detection (LOD) for this MIP was found to be 0.3 μM at a signal to noise ratio (S/N) of 3. This MIP electrode was used as a biosensor for the detection of UA in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) in a sample containing these species in the same concentrations as those in a human serum. The selectivity of MIP electrode is higher than that of NMIP electrode, and the values are 28.76 and 8.85, respectively. The results are substantiated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV), linear sweep voltammetry, amperometry, and scanning electron microscopy.