Ultratrace Detection of Histamine Using a Molecularly-Imprinted Polymer-Based Voltammetric Sensor

Rapid and cost-effective analysis of histamine, in food, environmental, and diagnosticsresearch has been of interest recently. However, for certain applications, the already-existing biologicalreceptor-based sensing methods have usage limits in terms of stability and costs. As a result, robustand cost-effective imprinted polymeric receptors can be the best alternative. In the present work,molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) for histamine were synthesized using methacrylic acid inchloroform and acetonitrile as two different porogens. The binding affinity of the MIPs with histaminewas evaluated in aqueous media. MIPs synthesized in chloroform displayed better imprintingproperties for histamine. We demonstrate here histamine MIPs incorporated into a carbon paste (CP)electrode as a MIP-CP electrode sensor platforms for detection of histamine. This simple sensor formatallows accurate determination of histamine in the sub-nanomolar range using an electrochemicalmethod. The sensor exhibited two distinct linear response ranges of 1 × 10−10–7 × 10−9 M and7 × 10−9–4 × 10−7 M. The detection limit of the sensor was calculated equal to 7.4 × 10−11 M.The specificity of the proposed electrode for histamine is demonstrated by using the analogousmolecules and other neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine, etc. The MIP sensor wasinvestigated with success on spiked serum samples. The easy preparation, simple procedure, andlow production cost make the MIP sensor attractive for selective and sensitive detection of analytes,even in less-equipped laboratories with minimal training.