Development of carbon paste electrodes modified by molecularly imprinted polymer as potentiometry sensor of uric acid

The development of carbon paste electrodes modified by molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) for the potentiometric analysis of uric acid was carried out in this study. The aim of the study was to determine the optimum composition of the electrode constituent material, the optimum pH of the uric acid solution, and the performance of the electrode, which was measured by its response time, measurement range, Nernst factor, detection limits, selectivity coefficient, precision, accuracy, and life time. MIP was made from methyl methacrylate as the monomer, ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as the cross-linker, and uric acid as the template. Electrodes that give optimum performance were produced from carbon, MIP, and paraffin with a ratio of 40:25:35 (% w/w). The obtained results show that the measurement of uric acid solution gives optimum results at pH 5, Nernst factor of 30.19 mV/decade, and a measurement range of 10⁻⁶–10⁻³ M. The minimum detection limit of this method was 3.03.10⁻⁶ M, and the precision and accuracy toward uric acid with concentration of 10⁻⁶–10⁻³ M ranged between 1.36–2.03% and 63.9–166%. The selectivity coefficient value was less than 1, which indicated that the electrode was selective against uric acid and not interfered with by urea. This electrode has a response time of less than 2 min; its life time is 8 weeks with 104 usage times.