Development of MIP sensor for monitoring propofol in clinical procedures

Abstract

Propofol is a widely used intravenous anaesthetic which requires close patient monitoring that involves blood extraction methods. Polymers with high affinity for propofol were computationally designed and their binding affinity tested. A diethylaminoethyl methacrylate based molecularly imprinted polymer was optimised in solid-phase extraction experiments showing no cross-reactivity to injections of urea, glucose, alfentanil and morphine. These polymers were initially integrated with screen-printed electrodes by photopolymerisation and used to detect propofol amperometrically, before modification to include conductive carbon to create better communication between the recognition sites of the polymer and the electrode. The sensors exhibited excellent linearity across the relevant clinical range with a detection limit of 4.19 µM measured in the presence of highly electroactive interferents such as uric acid and ascorbic acid. The mode of operation of the sensor reported herein differs significantly from the current state of the art and opens new opportunity towards the integration of synthetic receptors as electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care applications.