Selective detection of picolinic acid by molecularly imprinted polymer based electrochemical sensor

Abstract

Picolinic acid (PIC) is a key metabolite found in the amino acid tryptophan. While it has been well-studied for its significant role in mental health disorders, there has been little research into developing a rapid sensor to detect PIC. In this preliminary work, we sought to develop a molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs)-based electrochemical sensor that could rapidly and selectively detect PIC. The electrochemical sensor performance was evaluated using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) in a linear range between 1 and 5 mM, with a limit of detection of 0.6 mM (S/N = 3) and a limit of quantification of 1.7 mM (S/N = 10). The interference analysis was also conducted on the MIPs sensor to evaluate its ability to selectively detect PIC in the presence of other interfering molecules. Overall, the results demonstrate that this sensor has significant potential for use in the rapid and selective detection of PIC by electrochemical analysis.