Polymer-Based Lanthanide Luminescent Sensor for Detection of the Hydrolysis Product of the Nerve Agent Soman in Water

Abstract

The techniques of molecular imprinting and sensitized lanthanide luminescence have been combined to create the basis for a sensor that can selectively measure the hydrolysis product of the nerve agent Soman in water. The sensor functions by selectively and reversibly binding the phosphonate hydrolysis product of this agent to a functionality-imprinted copolymer possessing a coordinatively bound luminescent lanthanide ion, Eu3+. Instrumental support for this device is designed to monitor the appearance of a narrow luminescence band in the 610-nm region of the Eu3+ spectrum that results when the analyte is coordinated to the copolymer. The ligand field shifted luminescence was excited using 1 mW of the 465.8-nm line of an argon ion laser and monitored via an optical fiber using a miniature spectrometer. For this configuration, the limit of detection for the hydrolysis product is 7 parts per trillion (ppt) in solution with a linear range from 10 ppt to 10 ppm. Chemical and spectroscopic selectivities have been combined to reduce the likelihood of false positive analyses. Chemically analogous organophosphorus pesticides tested against the sensor have been shown to not interfere with determination.

Design of fluorescent materials for chemical sensing

“…104 In 1997 the first example where fluorescent reporter groups were incorporated into the MIP appeared. [104][105][106] Upon binding to the imprinted binding sites the analyte interacts with the fluorescent molecules and their fluorescence is quenched. Powell and co-workers reported the synthesis of a polymer imprinted with cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) using the fluorescent monomer trans-4-[p-(N,N-dimethylamino) styryl]-N-vinylbenzylpyridinium chloride.…”

Synthesis and binding site characteristics of 2,4,6-trichlorophenol-imprinted polymers

“…In this study, several cross-linking monomers have been evaluated in molecular imprinting, such as ethyleneglycoldimethacrylate (EGDMA), divinylbenzene (DVB), and trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TRIM). EGDMA is the most commonly used cross-linker for the methacrylate-based system, primarily because it provides materials with mechanical and thermal stability, good wettability in most rebinding media, and rapid mass transfer with good recognition properties [34]. Except for trimethacrylate monomers, such as TRIM, no other crosslinking monomer provides similar recognition properties for such a large variety of templates [32].…”

Mixed-Hemimicelle Solid Phase Extraction Followed by Dispersive Liquid-Liquid Microextraction of Amphetamines from Biological Samples

“…26 High sample capacity, high efficiency, as a result of high sorbent surface area, ease of sorbent separation, using an external magnetic field, and being rapid and inexpensive are the advantages of this methodology. Such benefits lead to the superiority of MSPE technique over other convectional SPE methods.…”