Selective and sensitive determination of erythromycin in honey and dairy products by molecularly imprinted polymers based electrochemical sensor

A highly selective and sensitive sensor has been developed for the determination of erythromycin (ERY) using molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) based electrochemical sensor. MIPs were adapted as a selective recognition element for enhancing the selectivity and sensitivity of the proposed electrochemical sensor. MIPs were synthesized and then used for the preparation of MIPs modified carbon paste (MIPs-CP) electrode. Our synthesized MIPs exhibited high adsorption capacity to ERY, with maximum binding amount (Qmax) of 93.5 mg g− 1 and imprinting factor (IF) of 2.1. Subsequently, the prepared electrode was used for quantitative determination of ERY by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) method. The MIPs-CP electrode exhibited an excellent current response toward ERY, compared with non-imprinted polymers modified carbon paste (NIPs-CP) electrode. Furthermore, for structurally similar compounds, MIPs-CP electrode possessed to be highly selective for ERY. Under the optimum conditions, the linear calibration range was 5.0 × 10− 8-1.0 × 10− 5 mol L− 1, and the limit of detection (LOD) of the sensor was 1.9 × 10− 8 mol L− 1. The developed sensor was successfully applied for analyzing ERY in honey and dairy products. Benefiting from the great selectivity and sensitivity, the developed sensor demonstrates a promising potential for practical application for analyzing ERY residues in foodstuffs.