Sensing of Carboxylate Drugs in Urine by a Supramolecular Sensor Array

A supramolecular sensor array consisting of eight chemosensors embedded in a hydrogel matrix was used to sense carboxylate drugs. The discriminatory power of the array has been evaluated using principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis. The eight-member sensor array has been shown to accurately identify 14 carboxylates in water with 100% classification accuracy. To demonstrate the potential for practical utility in the physiological environment, analysis of carboxylate drugs in human urine was also performed achieving 100% correct classification. In addition, the array performance in semiquantitative identification of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has been investigated, and the results show that the sensor array is able to differentiate six typical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs at concentrations of 0.5-100 ppm. This illustrates the potential utility of the designed sensor array for diagnostic and environmental monitoring applications.