Design of L-Cysteine and Acrylic Acid Imprinted Polypyrrole Sensors for Picomolar Detection of Lead Ions in Simple and Real Media

• Published in: IEEE sensors journal Vol. 20; no. 8; pp. 4147 - 4155
• Main Authors: Sakhraoui, Houssem Eddine El Yamine, Mazouz, Zouhour, Attia, Ghada, Fourati, Najla, Zerrouki, Chouki, Maouche, Naima, Othmane, Ali, Yaakoubi, Nourdin, Kalfat, Rafik, Madani, Ahmed, Nessark, Belkacem
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 15-04-2020; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE); Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
• Subjects: Acryclic acid; Acrylic acid; Analytical chemistry; Chelating agents; Chelation; Chemical Sciences; Cysteine; Drinking water; Electrodes; Engineering Sciences; Gravimetry; Imprinted polymers; Ion detectors; ion imprinted polymers; Ions; L-Cysteine; Lead; lead ions detection; Micro and nanotechnologies; Microelectronics; Plastics; Polypyrroles; SAW and electrochemical sensors; Selectivity; Sensors; Surface acoustic waves; ion imprinted polymers; SAW and electrochemical sensors; Acryclic acid; L-Cysteine; lead ions detection
• ISSN: 1530-437X; 1558-1748
• DOI: 10.1109/JSEN.2019.2961984

104 MHz surface acoustic wave sensors, functionalized with two polypyrrole (PPy) imprinted polymers, were designed for lead ion detection in liquid media. The main difference between the two ionic imprinted polymers (IIP) is related to the nature of the chelating agent: L-Cysteine (LCys) for the former and acrylic acid (AA) for the latter. Performances of the IIPs based sensors were compared in terms of sensitivity, limits of detection (LOD), dissociation constants and selectivity. The gravimetric results indicated that both designed sensors can detect picomolar concentrations of lead ions. These values are, in fact, significantly inferior to the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum accepted limit in drinking water, and among the lowest LODs ever reported in the literature. The relevant dissociation constants, calculated from the most appropriate fits of the calibration curves, were estimated at: Kd 1 = (1.1 ± 0.4) × 10 -10 M and Kd 2 = (1.1 ± 0.8) × 10 -5 M for L-Cys-IIP/Pb 2+ and Kd 1 = (1.1 ± 0.3) × 10 -13 M and Kd 2 = (5.9 ± 1.8) × 10 -10 M for AA-PPy-IIP/ Pb 2+ , thus confirming the strong binding between the designed IIPs and lead ions. Selectivity tests were investigated with mercury, cadmium, copper, zinc, and nickel divalent ions, which largely coexist with lead ions in soils, rivers, and wastewaters.