Direct electrochemical determination of methotrexate using functionalized carbon nanotube paste electrode as biosensor for in-vitro analysis of urine and dilute serum samples

Publication date: July 2019Source: Microchemical Journal, Volume 148Author(s): Shekher Kummari, V. Sunil Kumar, M. Satyanarayana, K. Vengatajalabathy GobiAbstractChemotherapy is a widely used effective method for the treatment of cancer in humans. Severity of dose levels and treatment duration necessitate frequent continuous monitoring of active drug concentration in human serum and urine. Development of an electrochemical biosensor for direct determination of methotrexate (MTX), a chemotherapy agent, from physiological fluids has been investigated. Functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube paste electrodes (f-CNTPE) have been fabricated for simple, cost-effective and reusable electrochemical sensors. Scanning electron microscopy studies revealed that the fabricated electrode surface is comprised of nano-streaks of independent segregated CNTs with high porosity. Cyclic voltammetric analysis showed that f-CNTPE had an enhanced electrocatalytic activity with sensitivity as much as three times and less over potentials by 70 mV compared with a conventional carbon paste electrode. Under optimized experimental parameters, differential pulse voltammograms (DPVs) exhibited a gradual increase in peak current with concentration, and the plot of peak current against MTX concentration was linear in the range of 0.4–5.5 μM. Square-wave voltammetry analysis of methotrexate exhibited a linear determination range from 0.01 to 1.5 μM, and the low-detection-limit was 2.9 × 10â...
Source: Microchemical Journal - Category: Chemistry Source Type: research