Quartz crystal microbalance sensor preparation for cannabinoid determination

In this study, a rapid and simple method for the determination of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, a cannabinoid species, has been developed. In the research, the use of Quartz Crystal Microbalance (QCM) electrodes in the determination of tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) was investigated in order to prepare the molecularly-imprinted polymer (MIP) films as QCM biosensors and to evaluate them in terms of molecular identification. For this purpose; firstly The THCA-imprinted polymer, which is the recognized bonding region of THCA, and the non imprinted polymer (NIP) were synthesized and characterized for comparison. In the second step of the work, the synthesized THCA-imprinted polymers were immobilized on the QCM electrode with an immobilization layer consisting of tetrahydrofuran (THF) and polyvinylchloride (PVC). At the end of the study, feasibility and binding kinetics of the THCA assay with the prepared QCM biosensor were investigated.