Development of a Modified Electrode with N-doped Carbon Dots for Electrochemical Determination of 17α-ethinylestradiol

Abstract

This work aims to develop a modified electrode with N-doped carbon dots (CPE/N-CD) for the voltammetric detection of 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) in solution. N-doped carbon dot nanoparticles (N-CD) were synthesized using citric acid and urea as the nitrogen source. The N-doped carbon dots were characterized by absorption and emission spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and visible regions, electronic absorption spectroscopy in the infrared region, and Raman Spectroscopy, which showed evidence of the formation of the material. Electrochemical analyses were conducted utilizing Differential Pulse Voltammetry (DPV). After optimization of electrochemical parameters, a calibration plot was produced for the sensor, demonstrating a linear range of 0.01 to 0.80 μmol L-1 (R2 = 0.9969). Additionally, the sensor exhibited a detection limit (LOD) of 0.59 nmol L-1 and a quantification limit (LOQ) of 2.00 nmol L-1. The studies on reproducibility and repeatability revealed RSDs of 1.63% and 3.61% respectively. The results obtained using CPE/N-CD indicate that the developed electrode exhibits excellent analytical performance, making it suitable for identifying and quantifying EE2 in solution.