Electrochemical and piezoelectric monitoring of taurine via electropolymerized molecularly imprinted films.

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) sensor is fabricated here for taurine, a β-amino acid significant for functioning of almost all vital organs. The polymeric film of l-methionine was electrochemically deposited on gold-coated EQCM electrode. Experimental parameters were optimized for controlling the performance of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-modified sensor such as ratio of monomer and template, number of electropolymerization cycles, mass deposited in each cycle, and pH. Thus, fabricated MIP-EQCM sensor was successfully applied for estimation of taurine in solutions with varying matrices, such as aqueous, human blood plasma, milk from cow, buffalo, and milk powder. Under optimized parameters, response of MIP sensor to taurine was linearly proportional to its concentration with limit of detection as 0.12μM. Hence, a highly sensitive and selective piezoelectric sensor for taurine has been reported here via imprinting approach.