Rapid Screening of Butyl Paraben Additive in Toner Sample by Molecularly Imprinted Photonic Crystal

In consideration of the endocrine disrupting effects caused by the butyl paraben (BP), a portable visual sensor has been developed based on the photonic crystal and molecular imprinting technology for the rapid screen of BP in toner sample which is a type of aqueous cosmetic to soften the face skin. By integrating the self-reporting and molecular recognition properties, the molecular imprinting photonic crystal (MIPC) sensor can display obvious color changes regularly according to the concentration of BP. Based on the “color guide”, the content of BP in toner sample can be estimated directly with the naked eye. In addition, the Bragg diffraction spectrum of MIPC can red shift linearly with the increase of the concentration of BP in sample solution with correlation coefficient as 0.9968. The quantitative determination of BP can be achieved through the optical fiber spectrometer with detection limit as 0.022 mmol·L−1. With good selectivity, this MIPC film can recognize BPs against the complex sample matrix, showing a standard addition recovery of 107% for the real samples.