Electro fabrication of molecularly imprinted sensor based on Pd nanoparticles decorated poly-(3 thiophene acetic acid) for progesterone detection

Abstract

In recent years, scientific community has witnessed substantial interest in the design and engineering of electrodes as sensing platforms towards sensitive and selective detection of hormones. An electrochemical strategy for the detection of progesterone was proposed by generating a composite film comprising of palladium nanoparticles with 3-thiophene acetic acid (3-TAA) coupled with molecular imprinting technology. Progesterone molecule was employed as the template while generating molecular imprints by electropolymerization on the surface of the Carbon Fibre Paper (CFP) electrode. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry were used to analyse the various modified working electrodes (CV). Characterization methods included field emission scanning microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry, optical profilometry, and X-ray photon electron spectroscopy. Pd nanoparticles resulted in enhanced sensitivity and molecular imprinting technology contributed to its specificity. Because of the molecular cavities created on the removal of the template molecule, Nyquist plots data showed that the MIP/Pd/CFP electrode had the lowest charge transfer resistance compared to other control electrodes.