A sensitive and selective molecularly imprinted sensor combined with magnetic molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction for determination of dibutyl phthalate

A highly sensitive and selective molecularly imprinted (MIP) sensor combined with magnetic molecularly imprinted solid phase extraction (MMISPE) was developed for the determination of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in complex matrixes. The magnetic molecularly imprinted polymer (MMIP) was synthesized as solid phase extraction (SPE) sorbet to extract DBP from complex matrixes and as sensing element to improve the selectivity of the imprinted sensor. The morphologies of MMIP and MIP-sensor were characterized by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical performances of MIP-sensor were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The conditions of preconcentration, elution and electrochemical determination were studied in detail. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the response currents of the MIP-sensor exhibited a linear relationship towards DBP concentrations ranging from 1.0×10−8 g/L to 1.0×10−3 g/L. The limit of detection of the MMIP-sensor coupled with the MMISPE was calculated as 0.052 ng/L. The MMIP-sensor coupled with the MMISPE was applied to detect DBP in complex samples successfully.