MIP-based electrochemical sensor for highly selective and sensitive determination of entacapone from the triple mixture in tablet dosage form

The aim of this study is to develop a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) sensor via photopolymerization for selective and sensitive analysis of entacapone (ENT), a catecholamine-o-methyl transferase (COMT) inhibitor. ENT is used for Parkinson’s disease treatment with levodopa (LEV) and carbidopa (CAR), and it is available in a triple combination tablet dosage form. For the MIP-based electrochemical sensor (4-AP@MIP/GCE) design, 4-aminophenol (4-AP) was selected as the functional monomer. Surface characterization of the 4-AP@MIP/GCE sensor was performed by scanning electron microscopy, electrochemical characterization by CV, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The linear concentration range was between 1.0 pM and 10.0 pM under optimum conditions for ENT determination. The limit of detection (LOD) of 0.24 pM and the limit of quantification (LOQ) of 0.80 pM were calculated for ENT analysis using 4-AP@MIP/GCE. The accuracy was proven by performing a recovery study on the tablet sample that contains ENT, LEV, and CAR, and the recovery was found to be 99.32%. The selectivity of the 4-AP@MIP/GCE sensor for ENT has been proven by interference studies on LEV, CAR, and their binary mixtures. Looking at the results of the study, it has been proven that the 4-AP@MIP/GCE sensor is a highly selective, sensitive, and specific quantitative option for the analysis of ENT.