Electrochemical Detection of Important Biomarker for Artificial Ripening of Mango by Polymethacrylic Acid Imprinted Polymer Sensor

Artificially ripened mango is harmful for health due to generation of some toxic chemicals. An electrochemical biosensor based on a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared for identifying artificial ripening of mango through its biomarker Furaneol (FU). Furaneol is found disappear on exposure to acetylene during artificial ripening. Methacrylic acid (MAA) copolymerized with ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) was utilized in developing FU imprinted sensor. The response characteristics of the sensor were evaluated by measuring the current response to FU with sensitivity factor of 0.017 A/M with wide detection range. The sensor response found to be highly selective to FU irrespective of other interfering analytes. The limit of detection of the graphite based poly-MAA imprinted Furaneol (PMAA-FU/G) sensor is 11 nM with wide linear detection range of $0.5~\mu \text{M}$ – $500~\mu \text{M}$ . Further the sensor was applied to natural and acetylene treated mangoes and compared with GC-MS data. The sensor is very successful with high recovery and sensitivity.