An electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted membranes on a P-ATP–AuNP modified electrode for the determination of acrylamide

A novel electrochemical sensor for acrylamide (AM) detection based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) membranes was constructed. p-Aminothiophenol (P-ATP) and AM were assembled on the surface of a gold nanoparticle (AuNP) modified glass carbon electrode (GCE) by the formation of Au–S bonds and hydrogen-bonding interactions, and polymer membranes were formed by electropolymerization in a polymer solution containing P-ATP, HAuCl4, tetrabutylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) and a dummy template molecule propanamide (PMA). A novel molecularly imprinted sensor (MIS) was obtained after the removal of PMA. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurements were used to monitor the electropolymerization process and its optimization, which was further characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The linear response range of the MIS was between 1 × 10−12 and 1 × 10−7 mol L−1, with a detection limit of 0.5 × 10−12 mol L−1. This research provides a fast, sensitive and real-time method for the detection of AM in a real sample without complex pretreatment and with average recoveries higher than 95% and a relative standard deviation (RSD) lower than 3.73%. All the obtained results indicate that the MIS is an effective electrochemical technique to determine AM in real-time and in a complicated matrix.