Quartz Microbalance Sensor for the Detection of Acrylamide

Several macrocycles of the Hunter-Vögtle type have been identified as superior host compounds for the detection of small amounts of acrylamide. When coated onto the surface of a quartz microbalance, these compounds serve as highly sensitive and selective sensor-active layers for their use in electronic noses. In this study, differently substituted macrocycles were investigated including an open-chain analogue and a catenane. Their structure and functional groups are correlated with their observed affinities to acrylamide and related acids and amides. The much smaller response of the open-chain compound and the almost absent sensor response of the catenane suggest that binding occurs within the cavity of the macrocycle. Theoretical calculations agree well with the experimental data even though they do not yet take into account the arrangement of the macrocycles in the sensor-active layer. The lower detection limit of acrylamide is 10 parts per billion (ppb), which is impressively low for this type of sensor. Other related compounds such as acrylic acid, propionamide, or propionic acid show no or significantly lower affinities to the macrocycles in these concentration ranges.