A novel electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers for caffeine recognition and detection

A sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) was developed for caffeine (CAF) recognition and detection. The sensor was constructed through the following steps: multiwalled carbon nanotubes and gold nanoparticles were first modified onto the glassy carbon electrode surface by potentiostatic deposition method successively. Subsequently, o-aminothiophenol (ATP) was assembled on the surface of the above electrode through Au–S bond before electropolymerization. During the assembled and electropolymerization processes, CAF was embedded into the poly(o-aminothiophenol) film through hydrogen bonding interaction between CAF and ATP, forming an MIP electrochemical sensor. The morphologies and properties of the sensor were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and differential pulse voltammetry. The recognition and determination of the sensor were observed by measuring the changes of amperometric response of the oxidation-reduction probe, [Fe(CN)6]3−/[Fe(CN)6]4−, on modified electrode. The results demonstrated that the prepared sensor had excellent selectivity and high sensitivity for CAF, and the linear range was 5.0 × 10−10 ~ 1.6 × 10−7 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 9.0 × 10−11 mol L−1 (S/N = 3). The sensor was also successfully employed to detect CAF in tea samples.