
A novel molecularly bioimprinted polymer (bioMIP) sensor was constructed through an efficient one step electropolymerization technique, using the natural dye safranine-O (Sa) capped with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The dsDNA was electrochemically entrapped into poly- (safranine-O) capped with silver nanoparticles (poly-(Sa@AgNPs)) film (molecularly bioimprinted polymer), deposited potensiodynamically on the surface of carbon paste electrode (CPE), using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The morphology and performance of bioimprinted polymer were characterized by electron scanning microscopy (SEM. The analytical performance of the bioimprinted sensor was also studied. The modified electrode presented very good reproducibility, satisfactory stability, as well as high sensitivity and selectivity compared to the conventional DNA and electrochemical sensors. Furthermore, the square wave voltammetric peak current was linear to butyl paraben mass concentration in the range 0.362 to 100 μg L-1, with a detection limit of 0.109 μg L-1. The bioimprinted sensor was successfully applied to the determination of butyl paraben in real cosmetic samples with satisfactory recovery ranging from 97.3 to 100.2 %, demonstrating its feasibility for practical application.