Molecularly Imprinted Polyaniline Nanowire-Based Electrochemical Biosensor for Chloramphenicol Detection: A Kinetic Study of Aniline Electropolymerization

We report a simple and effective approach to develop an electrochemical biosensor based on molecular-imprinted polymer to detect chloramphenicol (CAP). Polyaniline nanowires (PANi NWs) were grown on Au working electrode using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry (CA). Using CV analysis, several kinetic parameters of interest, such as diffusion coefficient, D, and the heterogeneous standard rate constant, k0, were determined. The formation of PANi in the electrode occurred through a diffusion-controlled process with slow kinetics. The PANi NWs fabricated with CA were smoother, more homogenous, and showed less agglomeration than those fabricated using CV. CAP was imprinted into the PANi NW network through co-polymerization using CA. CA was used to remove CAP from the PANi NW network in H2SO4 0.5 M solution. The sensor can detect CAP with a limit of 1.24 × 10−9 M, which is effective for monitoring CAP concentration in aquaculture.