Promote the electrocatalytic activity through the assembly of hexagonal SnS2/C sphere nanocomposite for determination of the immunosuppressant drug azathioprine in biological samples

Abstract

In modernized eras, enhanced growth of transplantation and the use of drugs are high. However, the overuse of immunosuppressant drugs is hazardous to human health. In particular, long-term use of azathioprine (ATN) causes heavy side effects on human health, therefore nanomolar detection and determination of ATN are essential. Herein, an efficient electrocatalyst of hexagonal tin sulfide incorporated carbon sphere (SnS2/C) nanocomposite was prepared by using the temperature and pressure maintained hydrothermal method. The prepared electrocatalyst was successfully characterized by using various spectra and microscopic techniques. The SnS2/C/GCE exhibits the well-resolved ATN reduction peak in the CV experiments, due to the synergetic effect between the hexagonal SnS2 and C sphere. In addition, SnS2/C/GCE exhibits two linear ranges of (0.001 – 104.7 µM and 121.8 – 1275 µM) and the low detection limit of 5.7 nM along with the higher sensitivity (0.4325 µA µM−1 cm−2). In addition to that, the constructed sensor delivers notable repeatability, reproducibility, and superior selectivity with the existence of metal ions, biological molecules, and nitro compounds, enabling the electrochemical detection of ATN. The fabricated, SnS2/C/GCE sensor was successfully applied to the real-time determination of ATN in biological human urine and blood serum samples with good recovery results. Based on this, SnS2/C is a portable electrocatalyst for sensing ATN for biological and clinical purposes.