All-Solid-State Potentiometric Ion-Sensors Based on Tailored Imprinted Polymers for Pholcodine Determination.

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science

Background:

• Ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) are increasingly utilized in pharmaceutical analysis due to their high selectivity, sensitivity, and cost-effectiveness.
• Traditional methods for drug determination can be time-consuming and expensive.
• Development of robust and reliable sensors is crucial for efficient pharmaceutical analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design, characterize, and validate all-solid-state potentiometric selective electrodes for pholcodine determination.
• To utilize multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for enhanced sensor performance.
• To assess the sensor's efficacy in analyzing pholcodine in pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of screen-printed electrodes modified with MWCNTs as a solid-contact transducer.
• Preparation and characterization of pholcodine-specific molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as the recognition element.
• Potentiometric measurements to determine pholcodine concentration over a defined linear range and detection limit.

Main Results:

• The developed sensors demonstrated high sensitivity (31.6 ± 0.5 mV/decade) and a low detection limit (2.5 × 10^-7 M).
• Linear response was observed over the concentration range of 5.5 × 10^-6 M.
• Accurate and efficient pholcodine determination was achieved in real serum samples and pharmaceutical formulations.

Conclusions:

• The developed all-solid-state potentiometric sensor offers a cost-effective, reliable, and sensitive method for pholcodine determination.
• The sensor exhibits excellent performance for direct and rapid analysis of pholcodine in diverse matrices.
• This technology presents a promising alternative to conventional chromatographic methods for pharmaceutical analysis.