An electrochemical sensor based on a molecularly imprinted polymer for determination of anticancer drug Mitoxantrone

•The novel MIP sensor based on electrochemical polymerization of β-CD and MTX.•Significantly enhanced selectivity towards analytes due to unique structure of MIP.•Remarkable advantages of rapid response, easy removal of the template molecules. A novel electrochemical sensor based on the molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film is presented for the determination of an anticancer drug Mitoxantrone (MTX). The MIP film was prepared by electrochemical polymerization of β-cyclodextrins (β-CD) and MTX on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for the first time, wherein β-CD served as the functional monomer, MTX as the template that was extracted afterwards, thereby creating the imprinted cavities complementary to the template in the polymer matrix. MTX could be specifically recognized and binding by the imprinted cavities. The developed MIP sensor exhibits a rapid electrochemical response, high sensitivity and selectivity for the determination of MTX in pharmaceutical formulations and spiked urine samples. Moreover, the proposed approach presents distinct advantages over reported electrochemical methods for determination of MTX because it is a one-step preparation and the template molecule could be easily removed by cyclic voltammetry scans, and no elution reagent is required. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the linear response range for MTX concentrations by the MIP sensor was 6×10−8M–1×10−5M with a detection limit of 3×10−8M (S/N=3), showing a good sensitivity and low LOD for MTX detection. This study demonstrates that the proposed MIP sensor is feasible for the detection of anticancer drugs.