Rapid and sensitive determination of tartrazine using a molecularly imprinted copolymer modified carbon electrode (MIP-PmDB/PoPD-GCE)

A novel molecularly imprinted copolymers sensor for fast and direct determination of tartrazine (TZ) was studied. The copolymers were immobilized on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) directly via electropolymerization with m-dihydroxybenzene (m-DB) and o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) as monomers. After elution, the copolymer was filled with nanopores that can specially bounds with tartrazine molecule. The developed sensor (MIP-PmDB/PoPD-GCE) determinates tartrazine specifically and quickly in the soft drinks sample without pretreatment. The linear relationship between the currents and the tartrazine concentration was 5.0 nM-1.1 μM, and a sensitivity limit of 3.5 nM was achieved. The whole process cost less than 5 min. The success practical application of MIP-PmDB/PoPD-GCE sensor on analyzing TZ in soft drink samples offers a promising potential on fast directly determination of tartrazine.