Electrochemical preparation of surface molecularly imprinted poly(3-aminophenylboronic acid)/MWCNTs nanocomposite for sensitive sensing of epinephrine

Highlights: • A surface molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) PAPBA was prepared via electrochemical polymerization on MWCNTs. • The PAPBA(MIPs)/MWCNTs modified electrode shows enhanced electrochemical performance. • The PAPBA(MIPs)/MWCNTs can detect epinephrine with better selectivity and sensitivity. - Abstract: A nanocomposite with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) coated with surface molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) poly(3-aminophenylboronic acid) (PAPBA) was successfully prepared via potentiodynamic electropolymerization and tested as an effective electrochemical material for epinephrine (EP) detection. The morphology and properties of the sensing material were characterized with scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Compared with MWCNTs or non-imprinted polymers PAPBA modified MWCNTs electrodes, the PAPBA(MIPs)/MWCNTs modified electrode showed a lower charge transfer resistance and enhanced electrochemical performance for EP detection. The improved performance can be attributed to the large amount of specific imprinted cavities with boric acid group which can selectively adsorb EP molecule and the synergistic effect between MWCNTs and PAPBA(MIPs). The effects of pH, the molar ratio between monomer and template molecule, the cycle number of electropolymerization, and the accumulation time of the modified electrode on the sensing performance were investigated. It was found that under the optimal conditions, the PAPBA(MIPs)/MWCNTs sensor could effectively recognize EP from many possible interferents of higher concentration within a wide linear range of 0.2–800 μmol·L⁻¹, with low detection limit of 35 nmol·L⁻¹, high sensitivity and good discrimination. The detection of EP in human serum and real injection samples using the PAPBA(MIPs)/MWCNTs sensor also gave satisfactory results.