Simple distance-based thread analytical device integrated with ion imprinted polymer for Zn2+ quantification in human urine samples

Abstract

This article presents the development of a distance-based thread analytical device (dTAD) integrated with an ion-imprinted polymer (IIP) for quantitative monitoring of zinc ions (Zn²⁺) in human urine samples. The IIP was easily chemically modified onto the thread channel using dithizone (DTZ) as a ligand to bind to Zn²⁺ with methacrylic acid (MAA) as a functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) as well as 2,2-azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) as cross-linking agents to enhance the selectivity for Zn²⁺ detection. The imprinted polymer was characterized using Attenuated Total Reflectance-Fourier Transform Infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). Under optimization, the linear detection range was from 1.0 to 20.0 mg L⁻¹ (R² = 0.9992) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 1.0 mg L⁻¹. Other potentially interfering metal ions and molecules did not interfere with this approach, leading to high selectivity. Furthermore, our technique exhibits a remarkable recovery ranging from 100.48% to 103.16%, with the highest relative standard deviation (% RSD) of 5.44% for monitoring Zn²⁺ in human control urine samples, indicating high accuracy and precision. Similarly, there is no significant statistical difference between the results obtained using our method and standards on zinc supplement sample labels. The proposed method offers several advantages in detecting trace Zn²⁺ for point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostics and environmental sample analysis, such as ease of use, instrument-free readout, and cost efficiency. Overall, our developed dTAD-based IIP method holds potential for simple, affordable, and rapid detection of Zn²⁺ levels and can be applied to other metal ions’ analysis.