Graphitic Carbon Nitride Nanoheterostructures as Novel Platforms for the Electrochemical Sensing of the Chemotherapeutic and Immunomodulator Agent MTX

Abstract

We report on the electrochemical determination of one the most effective and widely used chemotherapeutic, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulator agents, methotrexate (MTX), using low-cost, green, and facile one-pot prepared graphitic carbon nitride (g-CN ) nanosheets. The g-CN nanosheets have been characterized utilizing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction(XRD), scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and density functional theory (DFT). In comparison to the bare carbon paste electrode (CPE), the g-CN -modified electrode showed a spectacular enhancement in the electrochemical oxidation and detection abilities of MTX. The proposed material exhibits very low limits of detection (12.45 nM) and quantification (41.5 nM), while possessing a wide linear range of 0.22–1.11 μM and 1.11–27.03 μM under optimized conditions at pH 7.0. Due to the ease of preparation of g-CN, it can be adopted for the cost-effective detection of MTX in industrial and clinical analyses.

Keywords

• graphitic carbon nitride
• electrochemical sensors
• methotrexate
• LOD
• DFT