Preparation of ISEs often requires long and complicated conditioning protocols limiting their application as tools for in field measurements. Herein, we eliminated the need for conditioning by loading the membrane cocktail with primary ion solution. This protocol significantly shortens the preparation time of ISEs yielding functional electrodes with submicromolar detection limits.The scientific research in ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) has gained momentum within the last years due to improvements in the limits of detection and selectivity, becoming now applicable for trace-level measurements by understanding transmembrane ion fluxes. 1 The response of ISEs can be described by the phase boundary potential, E PB , according the following equation:Here a I (aq) and a I (org) are the activities of primary ion (I) of charge z in aqueous and organic phases respectively, while E 0 , R, T, and F are the standard potential, gas constant, temperature and Faraday constant, respectively. When a I (org) is kept constant, the equation 1 reduces to the well-known Nernst equation:In order to render an ion-selective membrane functional, the ionophore and lipophilic ionic sites are required. One of the major roles of ionophore is to make relatively strong complexes with the primary ion, thereby establishing their constant activity in the membrane. 2 For more details see Equations SI1-SI5 in the supporting information. The role of the lipophilic ionic sites is to provide ion-exchange properties. For cation selective membrane, this process could be described by the following equilibrium:where L is a ligand (ionophore) that forms ion-ionophore complex with ion I of stoichiometry n. + − is a lipophilic ion exchanger composed of lipophilic anion R -and its counterion M + . Partitioning of I from aqueous sample into the membrane results in its exchange with M + . Anion − remains in the membrane thereby rendering the membrane permselective while preserving the charge balance. 3 In a typical experimental protocol for the preparation of ion-selective membranes the ion-exchange process is obtained by conditioning (soaking) the membrane in an aqueous solution containing the ion I (traditional protocol). 4 Significant effort in ISEs field has been spent on researching ways to miniaturize 5-9 and optimize/simplify the preparation of ISEs. [10][11][12] Reducing or eliminating the need for the conditioning step prior to the use of the electrodes is an important step for devising a simple, practical protocol for ISEs applications. 12 This would enable nontrained personnel to use ISEs quickly and reliably. In this work we propose a simple alteration of the sensor's conditioning protocol. Instead of placing the ISEs in a solution of primary ions I, solution is added directly into the membrane cocktail prior to its casting. The concentration of that solution is calculated to allow for stoichiometric exchange of I and M. Consequently, ions I are present in the membrane facilitating the formation of ion-ionophore complex according to the ...