Towards Phosphate Detection in Hydroponics Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors
1
School of Electrical & Electronic Engineering, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
2
Organic Materials Innovation Centre, School of Chemistry, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK
3
School of Materials, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Sensors 2018, 18(2), 531; https://doi.org/10.3390/s18020531
Received: 6 January 2018
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Revised: 5 February 2018
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Accepted: 8 February 2018
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Published: 10 February 2018
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymer-Based Sensors for Bioanalytes)
An interdigitated electrode sensor was designed and microfabricated for measuring the changes in the capacitance of three phosphate selective molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) formulations, in order to provide hydroponics users with a portable nutrient sensing tool. The MIPs investigated were synthesised using different combinations of the functional monomers methacrylic acid (MAA) and N-allylthiourea, against the template molecules diphenyl phosphate, triethyl phosphate, and trimethyl phosphate. A cross-interference study between phosphate, nitrate, and sulfate was carried out for the MIP materials using an inductance, capacitance, and resistance (LCR) meter. Capacitance measurements were taken by applying an alternating current (AC) with a potential difference of 1 V root mean square (RMS) at a frequency of 1 kHz. The cross-interference study demonstrated a strong binding preference to phosphate over the other nutrient salts tested for each formulation. The size of template molecule and length of the functional monomer side groups also determined that a short chain functional monomer in combination with a template containing large R-groups produced the optimal binding site conditions when synthesising a phosphate selective MIP.
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Keywords:
hydroponics; interdigitated electrodes; molecularly imprinted polymer; nutrient monitoring; phosphate; polymer sensor; precision agriculture
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MDPI and ACS Style
Storer, C.S.; Coldrick, Z.; Tate, D.J.; Donoghue, J.M.; Grieve, B. Towards Phosphate Detection in Hydroponics Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors. Sensors 2018, 18, 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18020531
AMA Style
Storer CS, Coldrick Z, Tate DJ, Donoghue JM, Grieve B. Towards Phosphate Detection in Hydroponics Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors. Sensors. 2018; 18(2):531. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18020531
Chicago/Turabian StyleStorer, Christopher S., Zachary Coldrick, Daniel J. Tate, Jack M. Donoghue, and Bruce Grieve. 2018. "Towards Phosphate Detection in Hydroponics Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Sensors" Sensors 18, no. 2: 531. https://doi.org/10.3390/s18020531
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