Molecular-Imprinted, Polymer-Coated Quartz Crystal Microbalances for the Detection of Terpenes

• Published in: Analytical chemistry (Washington) Vol. 73; no. 17; pp. 4225 - 4228
• Main Authors: Percival, C. J, Stanley, S, Galle, M, Braithwaite, A, Newton, M. I, McHale, Hayes, W
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 01-09-2001
• Subjects: Analytical chemistry; Biomimetic materials; Biosensors; Chemistry; Crystals; Exact sciences and technology; General, instrumentation; Gravimetric analysis; Molecules; Monomers; Polymers; Quartz; Sensors; Thin films; Performance evaluation; Binding capacity; 3-p-Menthanol; Enantioselectivity; Molecular structure; Piezoelectric detector; Monoterpene; Pattern recognition; Chemical sensor; Crystal detector; Monocyclic compound
• ISSN: 0003-2700; 1520-6882
• DOI: 10.1021/ac0155198

A piezoelectric sensor coated with an artificial biomimetic recognition element has been developed for the determination of l-menthol in the liquid phase. A highly specific noncovalently imprinted polymer (MIP) was cast in situ on to the surface of a gold-coated quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) electrode as a thin permeable film. Selective rebinding of the target analyte was observed as a frequency shift quantified by piezoelectric microgravimetry with the QCM. The detectability of l-menthol was 200 ppb with a response range of 0−1.0 ppm. The response of the MIP-QCM to a range of monoterpenes was investigated with the sensor binding menthol in favor of analogous compounds. The sensor was able to distinguish between the d- and l-enantiomers of menthol owing to the enantioselectivity of the imprinted sites. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing enantiomeric resolution within an MIP utilizing a single monomer-functional moiety interaction. It is envisaged that this technique could be employed to determine the concentration of terpenes in the atmosphere.