A new diosgenin sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymer of para aminobenzoic acid selected by computer-aided design.

A novel electropolymerized molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) film, based on diosgenin on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE), has been synthesized. Based on density functional theory (DFT), para-aminobenzoic acid (pABA), which is a green substance, was selected from five functional monomers by Gaussian software for MIP production, to be the suitable monomer. The MIP's synthesis conditions were optimized, and the imprinting effect was confirmed by comparing the electrochemical reaction of MIP, with that of non-imprinted polymer (NIP). The calibration curve of diosgenin on MIP/GCE was obtained with a linear range of 0.003 to 0.13 mM. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were determined to be 8.95 × 10-4 mM and 2.98 × 10-3 mM, respectively. This method exhibited good stability, high sensitivity, and high selectivity for diosgenin. The developed method is the first method reported to be used for the electroanalysis of diosgenin, and it has been successfully applied to the analysis of diosgenin in Trigonella foenum graecum seed extract.