Search

A new molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor was proposed to determine 4,4′-methylene diphenyl diamine (MDA) using molecularly imprinted polymer–multiwalled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode (MIP/MWCNTs/GCE). GCE was coated by MWCNTs (MWCNTs/GCE) because of their antifouling qualities and in order to improve the sensor sensitivity. To make the whole sensor, a polymeric film made up of chitosan nanoparticles was electrodeposited by the cyclic voltammetry method on the surface of MWCNTs/GCE in the presence of MDA as a template. Different parameters such as scan cycles, elution time, incubation time, molar ratio of template molecules to functional monomers, and pH were optimized to increase the performance of the MIP sensor. With a detection limit of 15 nM, a linear response to MDA was seen in the concentration range of 0.5–100 µM. The imprinting factor (IF) of the proposed sensor was also calculated at around 3.66, demonstrating the extremely high recognition performance of a MIP/MWCNT-modified electrode. Moreover, the sensor exhibited good reproducibility and selectivity. Finally, the proposed sensor was efficiently used to determine MDA in real samples with satisfactory recoveries ranging from 94.10% to 106.76%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • TDA is a toxic compound possibly migrating from packaging materials to foods. • A new electrochemical sensor has been designed for the selective determination of TDA. • Chitosan, AuNPs, and MWCNTs have been used to achieve high selectivity and sensitivity. • The modified GCE has shown excellent stability and analytical performance. • Tests on real food packaging materials have shown the great potential of this new device. Abstract This work describes the development of a modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the selective determination of 2,4-diaminotoluene (TDA), a primary aromatic amines (PAAs) that can be formed in food packaging materials including aromatic polyurethane (PU) adhesives. The electrode's surface was modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), MWCNTs in chitosan (CS), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The highest current response was achieved with AuNPs/MWCNTs-CS/GC electrodes, which exhibited an oxidation peak of 9.87 μA by cyclic voltammetry (CV), compared with 1.39 μA of the bare GCE. A detection limit of 35 nM was estimated by amperometry experiments. The oxidation of TDA was strongly dependent on the pH of the medium, having maximum sensitivity at pH ∼ 7. From a mechanistic point of view, the diffusion coefficient of TDA (D = 6.47 × 10−4 cm2 s−1) and the number of electrons (n ≈ 2) involved in the catalytic oxidation of TDA at the surface of the AuNPs/MWCNTs-CS/GCE were determined. The practical utility of this nanocomposite modified electrode was demonstrated by migration studies from conventional food packaging materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]