Peptide-Based Molecularly Imprinted Polymer: A Visual and Digital Platform for Specific Recognition and Detection of Ethyl Carbamate

A visual and digital platform was constructed by peptide-based molecularly imprinted polymers (PMIPs) for specific recognition and detection of ethyl carbamate (EC). Here, the optosensing core was creatively constructed by the covalent assembly of dipeptides (H-Phe-Phe-OH) and genipin biomolecules for high fluorescence quantum yield and dual-signal response capability. MIPs were wrapped in the shell of the optosensing core for selectivity of EC from actual samples of alcoholic beverages. The genipin-FF nanoparticles (GFPNs)@ PMIPs exhibited dual-band red-blue fluorescence image with a low detection limit of 0.817 and 1.65 mu g L-1, respectively, in the optimal linear range of 2-240 mu g L-1. The accuracy of this method was verified by the spiked recovery experiment, and a good recovery from 83.97 to 106.75% of the proposed optosensing method was obtained. In addition, a smartphone application was coupled with GFPNs@PMIPs to realize online real-time detection of EC. With the addition of EC, the color change of G and B values was negligible compared with the R value. This work also provides a potential method for on-site visual detection of analytes.

Automated summary

A visual and digital platform was developed using peptide-based molecularly imprinted polymers (PMIPs) for specific recognition and detection of ethyl carbamate (EC). The optosensing core was constructed by covalently assembling dipeptides (H-Phe-Phe-OH) and genipin biomolecules, providing high fluorescence quantum yield and dual-signal response capability. PMIPs wrapped in the optosensing core demonstrated selectivity for EC in alcoholic beverages samples. The system achieved low detection limits and good recovery rates.