An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for the determination of tribenuron-methyl in water and soil using a molecularly imprinted film as an artificial antibody

Abstract

This paper describes the development of a direct competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with a molecularly imprinted film as an artificial antibody to measure trace tribenuron-methyl (TBM) in environmental water and soil samples. The molecularly imprinted film was directly synthesized on the well surface of a MaxiSorp polystyrene 96-well plate by a non-covalent approach, and characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and static and kinetic adsorption experiments. Under optimum conditions, the IC₅₀ and IC₁₅ of the established method are 19.73 μg L⁻¹ and 0.30 μg L⁻¹, respectively, and its cross-reactivity with three sulfonylurea herbicides is in the range of 3.17–13.10%. The method was successfully applied to the determination of TBM in spiked environmental water and soil samples with recoveries from 93.6 to 96.8% and 87.5 to 97.5%, respectively. The results are in good agreement with those obtained by high performance liquid chromatography.