Ultrasensitive assay for the sports banned stimulant clenbuterol enabled by polystyrene-gold nanocomposite platform

Abstract

An electrochemical biosensor based on a polystyrene-gold nanocomposite was fabricated for the ultrasensitive sensing of clenbuterol. The PS-Au nanocomposite was synthesized by modifying polystyrene with triazine and aminothiazole groups, followed by the in-situ reduction of AuNPs. The PS-Au/SPCE exhibited a linear range (0.01–10 μM) with a limit of detection of 3.2 nM towards clenbuterol along with high selectivity and good stability. The sensor platform showcased its prowess by accurately quantifying clenbuterol in milk specimens fortified with known analyte concentrations, yielding recovery percentages within the range of 96.5–102.8 %, accompanied by relative standard deviations below 4.2 %. The superior performance of the PS-Au/SPCE is due to the synergistic effect of the high surface area and electrocatalytic activity of the AuNPs, the efficient adsorption of clenbuterol on the functionalized polystyrene matrix, and the enhanced electron transfer kinetics.

Keywords

• Triazine
• Aminothiazole
• Electrochemical detection
• Milk samples
• Recovery