Facile in-situ generation of bismuth tungstate nanosheet-multiwalled carbon nanotube composite as unconventional affinity material for quartz crystal microbalance detection of antibiotics

Publication date: Available online 18 March 2019Source: Journal of Hazardous MaterialsAuthor(s): Anam Munawar, Romana Schirhagl, Abdul Rehman, Ayesha Shaheen, Ayesha Taj, Khizra Bano, Nicole J. Bassous, Thomas J. Webster, Waheed S. Khan, Sadia Z. BajwaAbstractOveruse and thus a constant presence of antibiotics leads to various environmental hazards and health risks. Thus, accurate sensors are required to determine their presence. In this work, we present a mass-sensitive sensor for the detection of rifampicin. We chose this molecule as it is an important antibiotic for tuberculosis, one of the leading causes of deaths worldwide. Herein, we have prepared a carbon nanotube reinforced with bismuth tungstate nanocomposite material in a well-defined nanosheet morphology using a facile in-situ synthesis mechanism. Morphological characterization revealed the presence of bismuth tungstate in the form of square nanosheets embedded in the intricate network of carbon nanotubes, resulting in higher surface roughness of the nanocomposite. The synergy of the composite, so formed, manifested a high affinity for rifampicin as compared to the individual components of the composite. The developed sensor possessed a high sensitivity towards rifampicin with a detection limit of 0.16 μM and excellent specificity, as compared to rifabutin and rifapentine. Furthermore, the sensor yielded statistically good recoveries for the monitoring of rifampicin in human urine samples. This work opens up ...
Source: Journal of Hazardous Materials - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research