Conducting Polymer-Layered Carbon Nanotube as Sensor Interface for Electrochemical Detection of Dacarbazine In-Vitro

Abstract

A reusable electrochemical sensor ensembling carbon nanotubes and a conducting polymer together is fabricated for the detection of an important anti-cancer drug, dacarbazine (DTIC). A thin film of a conducting polymer, poly(2-amino-1,3,4-thiadiazole) (poly-ATD), is formed on the carbon nanotube paste electrode (CNPE) by employing a potentiodynamic polymerization technique. The fabricated sensor surface has been characterized by FTIR spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for the structural and chemical properties of the electrode system. The electrochemical capability of the fabricated poly-ATD/CNPE composite electrode for the detection of DTIC is examined by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic analysis (EIS), and the poly-ATD/CNPE electrode is found to be efficient for electrocatalytic oxidation of DTIC. Optimization and evaluation of the sensor system are examined by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). A linear relationship of DTIC concentration over the peak current of DPVs is exhibited over a wide concentration range of 0.05–24.0 μM with a low detection limit (3σ/b) of 35 nM. Steady state current–time analysis experiments under hydrodynamic conditions exhibited a low detection limit of 20 nM, and the analysis time is as low as 10 s. Practical utility of the fabricated poly-ATD/CNPE biosensor for the detection of DTIC directly from artificial urine and pharmaceutical formulations has been demonstrated with very good recovery limits.