Electrochemical detection of dioctyl phthalate using molecularly imprinted polymer modified screen-printed electrodes

We report the investigation of electropolymerised molecularly imprinted polymers (E-MIPs) for the determination of dioctyl phthalate (DOP). Low-cost and eco-friendly commercially available screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) were used. E-MIPs were produced using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique based on a water-soluble 4-aminophenol as functional monomer. E-MIPs for DOP showed affinity for the template, with 80% binding efficiency and an imprinting factor of 3. The E-MIPs were able to detect absolute levels of DOP in a time-dependent adsorption manner with the presence of 250 μg DOP (equivalent to 12.8 μM) detected in 5 min with a LOD (at 15 min) of 177.1 μg and LOQ of 536.6 μg making them suitable for the measurement of DOP in freshwater when the sample is pre-concentrated.