A novel electrochemical sensor based on a molecularly imprinted polymer for the determination of epigallocatechin gallate

A novel electrochemical sensor based on the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was fabricated by electrochemical polymerization of β-cyclodextrins (β-CD) and epigallocatechin-gallate (EGCG) on the graphene oxide (GO) modified glassy carbon (GO/GC) electrode for the first time. The MIP/GO/GC electrode exhibits an excellent ability of specific binding of EGCG and a rapid electrochemical response, high sensitivity and selectivity for determination of EGCG. This prepared MIP sensor presents distinct advantages over conventional electrochemical methods for EGCG determination because it is a one-step preparation and the template molecule can be easily removed by cyclic voltammetry scans, and no elution reagent is required. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the linear response range for EGCG concentrations by the sensor was 3×10-8mol/L to 1×10-5mol/L and the detection limit was 8.78×10-9mol/L(S/N=3). The results demonstrate that the proposed MIP sensor can be a potential alternative for the determination of EGCG in tea samples.