Disposable Electrochemical Sensor Based on MXene/Graphene Nanoplatelets/Ionic Liquid for the Determination of Anticancer Drug Imiquimod

Abstract

This study describes the development of a novel, ultrasensitive, and selective electrochemical sensor to determine imiquimod (IMQ) using a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) modified with MXene (Ti3C2Tx), graphene nanoplatelets, and ionic liquid (Ti3C2Tx/GNPs/IL). This work reveals the synergistic effect of Ti3C2Tx, GNPs, and IL, where Ti3C2Tx and GNPs provide a large active electrode area and excellent electron transport, and IL exhibits remarkable electrocatalytic behavior. Benefiting from the excellent electrochemical properties of the composite, the developed sensing platform enabled superior electrochemical performance for IMQ in the broad linear range of 0.071–92.0 μM (R2 = 0.999) with a limit of detection (LOD) of 0.487 nM and a detection sensitivity of 7.558 μA μM−1 cm−2. Meanwhile, the sensor has shown good repeatability, reproducibility, stability, and anti-interference ability and has been subsequently used to detect IMQ in cream formulations with satisfactory recoveries (98.33%–99.34%) and lower relative standard deviations (<3%). The findings indicate that the newly developed sensor can contribute to the development of a portable, robust, and high-performance sensing strategy for multidisciplinary targets.