Review—Recent Advancements in Electrochemical Sensors for 4-Aminoquinoline Drugs Determination in Biological and Environmental Samples

Abstract

4-Aminoquinoline including Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), amodiaquine (AQ), Chloroquine (CQ) are a quinoline with an amino group at the 4th position with a basic side chain. They are generally used as antimalarial medications. HCQ and CQ are recommended by the World Health Organization on march 2020 the use as a possible treatment to coronavirus (COVID–19). Long-term of 4-aminoquinoline drugs administration can be associated with toxic side-effects on the outer retina and the retinal pigment epithelium. Therefore, their determination in biological samples is important. Several methods have been used for 4-Aminoquinoline compounds analysis, such as spectrophotometry, immunological, electrophoresis, chromatography and electroanalytical methods. Electrochemical methods are more preferable because they are simple, quick analysis and more sensitive performance. Up to now, numerous electrochemical methods have been used to detect those drugs. Nevertheless, the utilization of later techniques is limited. Therefore, this review describes different electrochemical sensors, which are used for 4-aminoquinoline electroanalysis in complex matrices such as pharmaceuticals and biological fluids. For this, the fundamental analytical performance of the chosen sensors is investigated. The selectivity and oxidation mechanisms for 4-aminoquinoline reported in the literature were discussed. Also, the application of these sensors for 4-aminoquinoline monitoring in biological and environmental samples is reported.