An electrochemical sensor based on the molecularly imprinted polymer/ single walled carbon nanotube-modified glassy carbon electrode for detection of zineb fungicide in food samples

In the present study, a selective electrochemical technique to determine Zineb fungicide based on molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) as a simple and fast method was developed. The MIP was synthesized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with single walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) through electropolymerization of ortho-aminophenol (o-AP) monomer and Zineb fungicide analyte. Some ions and compounds were examined as the interfering species to investigate the selectivity of the developed sensor. This research proposes simple determination of Zineb fungicide with a linear range 5–1000 fM and limit of detection (LOD) 1.6 fM. Finally, this strategy was successfully used to detect Zineb in some vegetable and fruit samples such as cucumber, potato, tomato, lettuce, peach, and apple with a satisfactory recovery range between 98.85 and 102.00%. The obtained results indicated that the newly developed method is stable, convenient, and has easy preparation steps with low-cost materials. It can be used for rapid diagnosis of Zineb in crops and agriculture products, which holds great promise in detection of environmental pollutants.