A novel sensor based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and boron-doped double-layer molecularly imprinted membrane for the analysis of SCZ in pharmaceutical and biological samples

ABSTRACT

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for the rapid detection of the anti-parasitic drug Secnidazole (SCZ) is reported. In this work, the build electrochemical sensor was based on a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and boron-embedded duplex molecularly imprinted composite membranes (B-DMICMs), that significantly increased the efficiency of the sensor for the detection of template molecule SCZ. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to study the interactions between the template and monomers to select appropriate functional monomers for rational design of the B-DMICMs.The optimal experimental conditions were optimised for the factors affecting the performance of the sensor. Under the optimal conditions, the reduction peak currents of SCZ by differential pulse voltammetry increased linearly with SCZ concentration in the range from 3.0 × 10⁻⁴ to 1.0 × 1.0⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ and 1.0 × 1.0⁻⁶ to 1.91 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 1.72 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ for secnidazole, which is significantly lower than those in the currently used methods and in previous reports. This method offers low cost, sensitive and effective determination of SCZ and can potentially be used for detection of SCZ in pharmaceutical and biological samples with good precision and accuracy.

KEYWORDS:

• Secnidazole
• multi-wall carbon nanotubes
• electrochemical sensor
• differential pulse voltammetry
• Molecularly imprinted polymer

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The authors gratitude the financial support of Natural Science Foundation of China [No.31200140 and 11475079], Hunan Province Engineering Research Center of Radioactive Control Technology in Uranium Mining and Metallurgy & Hunan Province Engineering Technology Research Center of Uranium Tailings Treatment, University of South China [No. 2018YKZX1007], Innovation Foundation for Postgraduate from University of South China [No. 2018KYY048] and Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholars, State Education Ministry [No. 2015jyb02].