Reaction mechanism and detecting properties of a novel molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for microcystin based on three-dimensional AuNPs@MWCNTs/GQDs

Microcystins with leucine arginine (MC-LR) is a virulent hepatotoxin, which is commonly present in polluted water with its demethylated derivatives [Dha7] MC-LR. This study reported a low-cost molecularly imprinted polymer network-based electrochemical sensor for detecting MC-LR. The sensor was based on a three-dimensional conductive network composed of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphene quantum dots (GQDs), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The molecularly imprinted polymer was engineered by quantum chemical computation utilizing p-aminothiophenol (p-ATP) and methacrylic acid (MAA) as dual functional monomers and L-arginine as a segment template. The electrochemical reaction mechanism of MC-LR on the sensor was studied for the first time, which is an irreversible electrochemical oxidation reaction involving an electron and two protons, and is controlled by a mixed adsorption–diffusion mechanism. The sensor exhibited a great detection response to MC-LR in the linear range of 0.08–2 μg/L, and the limit of detection (LOD) is 0.0027 μg/L S/N = 3. In addition, the recoveries of the total amount of MC-LR and [Dha7] MC-LR in the actual sample by the obtained sensor were in the range from 91.4 to 116.7%, which indicated its great potential for environmental detection. HIGHLIGHTSA molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor was proposed for detecting MC-LR.; The sensor was based on a 3D conductive network composed of MWCNTs, GQDs and AuNPs.; The molecularly imprinted polymer was engineered by quantum chemical computation.; The reaction mechanism of MC-LR on the sensor was studied.; The total amount of MC-LR in actual samples was detected successfully.;