Electrochemical sensor for levofloxacin based on molecularly imprinted polypyrrole–graphene–gold nanoparticles modified electrode

A novel strategy was developed for the construction of a highly sensitive levofloxacin (LEV) sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) incorporation with graphene–Au nanoparticles (G-AuNPs). In this sensor, G-AuNPs dramatically promoted the electrooxidation of LEV on electrode while molecularly imprinted polypyrrole of LEV served as the recognition element. The electropolymerization conditions, method of template removal, and effects of supporting electrolyte and incubation time were investigated. Under optimized conditions, the oxidation peak current increased linearly with the concentration of LEV in the range from 1.0 to 100 μmol L−1 with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.53 μmol L−1. The MIP/G-AuNPs-based sensor was useful for the determination of LEV with high sensitivity, excellent selectivity and good reproducibility.