Manufacturing of a Sensitive and Selective Optical Sensor Based on Molecularly Imprinted Polymers and Green Carbon Dots Synthesized from Cedrus Plant for Trace Analysis of Propranolol

Abstract

In this article, a new optical sensor was developed using a molecularly imprinted polymers layer coated with new green carbon dots (CDs) for the determination of propranolol. First, the CDs were synthesized for the first time from Cedrus plant through the hydrothermal method. Then, a nanolayer molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was applied on the CDs (MIP-CDs) in the presence of propranolol as a template using a reverse microemulsion technique. Afterward, propranolol was removed from MIP-CDs nanocomposites using a mixture of ethanol and acetonitrile, and the obtained nanocomposite was used as a fluorescence sensor for propranolol determination. Under the optimal conditions, the sensor response was linear in the range of 0.8 – 65.0 nmol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 0.2 nmol L⁻¹. The results confirmed that the sensor has some advantages such as cost-effectiveness, rapid response, high sensitivity and selectivity for propranolol determination.