Selective recognition of atrazine by molecularly imprinted polymer membranes. Development of conductometric sensor for herbicides detection

Abstract Molecularly imprinted polymer membranes, containing artificial recognition sites for atrazine have been prepared by photopolymerisation using atrazine as a template, methacrylic acid as a functional monomer and tri(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate as a cross-linker. To obtain thin, flexible and mechanically stable membranes, oligourethane acrylate was added to the monomer mixture. Reference membranes were prepared with the same monomer mixture but in the absence of the template. Imprinted membranes were tested as a recognition element of an atrazine-sensitive conductometric sensor. The influence of the polymer composition and type of solvent used as a porogen on the magnitude of the sensor response was investigated. The sensor developed demonstrated high selectivity and sensitivity with a detection limit of 5 nM for atrazine. The membranes synthesised exhibited the same recognition characteristics over a period of six months. The time of the sensor response was 6–15 min depending on the membrane thickness.

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