Fabrication of a Selective and Sensitive Sensor Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymer/Acetylene Black for the Determination of Azithromycin in Pharmaceuticals and Biological Samples.

Tingting Zhou,Dan Luo,Bin Song,Yong-Ill Lee,Hua Jin,Yikai Zhou,Yusun Zhou,Tao Jing,Yun Tao,Surong Mei,Jie Zheng

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0147002

Abstract

A new selective and sensitive sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer/acetylene black (MIP/AB) was developed for the determination of azithromycin (AZM) in pharmaceuticals and biological samples. The MIP of AZM was synthesized by precipitation polymerization. MIP and AB were then respectively introduced as selective and sensitive elements for the preparation of MIP/AB-modified carbon paste (MIP/ABP) electrode. The performance of the obtained sensor was estimated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) techniques. Compared with non-molecularly imprinted polymer (NIP) electrodes, NIP/ABP electrodes, and MIP-modified carbon paste electrodes, MIP/ABP electrode exhibited excellent current response toward AZM. The prepared sensor also exhibited good selectivity for AZM in comparison with structurally similar compounds. The effect of electrode composition, extraction parameters, and electrolyte conditions on the current response of the sensor was investigated. Under the optimized conditions, the prepared sensor showed two dynamic linear ranges of 1.0 × 10−7 mol L−1 to 2.0 × 10−6 mol L−1 and 2.0 × 10−6 mol L−1 to 2.0 × 10−5 mol L−1, with a limit of detection of 1.1 × 10−8 mol L−1. These predominant properties ensured that the sensor exhibits excellent reliability for detecting AZM in pharmaceuticals and biological fluids without the assistance of any separation techniques. The results were validated by the high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method.

Highlights

Azithromycin (AZM) (Fig 1) is a macrolide antibiotic (MAC) that is extensively used to treat bacterial infections in human beings, including respiratory, urogenital, pneumococcal pneumonia, and bronchiolitis obliterans [1,2,3]
Various methods have been developed for the detection of AZM, including bioassay [6,7], spectrophotometry [8], liquid chromatography [9,10,11,12], high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) [13,14] and electrochemical methods [15,16,17,18]
The static adsorption capacities of Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and non-molecularly imprinted polymer (NIP) for AZM were determined in various concentrations of AZM ranging from 0.5 g L−1 to 4.0 g L−1

Summary

Introduction

Azithromycin (AZM) (Fig 1) is a macrolide antibiotic (MAC) that is extensively used to treat bacterial infections in human beings, including respiratory, urogenital, pneumococcal pneumonia, and bronchiolitis obliterans [1,2,3]. Various methods have been developed for the detection of AZM, including bioassay [6,7], spectrophotometry [8], liquid chromatography [9,10,11,12], high-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) [13,14] and electrochemical methods [15,16,17,18] Most of these methods are insufficient either in sensitivity, ease of access, or cost effectiveness. A special type of porous carbon material, namely, acetylene black (AB), has recently attracted considerable attention in the field of electrochemical analysis because of its excellent electric conductivity, high accumulation efficiency and large surface area These properties of AB are beneficial in improving the sensitivity of electrochemical detection. The sensor was applied successfully for detection of AZM in tablets and biological samples

Materials and Methods

Ethics Statement

Results and Discussion

Conclusion