MXene-interdigitated Holey-graphene oxide nanocomposite for simultaneous detection of antibiotic and anticancer drugs with ultra-high sensitivity

In electrochemical sensors, signal overlap makes detecting and distinguishing molecules with the same electroactive functional group difficult. Novel electrode materials with high sensitivity must be developed to identify and separate the signal from such target analytes. Herein, a sustainable approach to designing a functional nanocomposite of holey-graphene oxide with partially-oxidized MXene titanium carbide (p-TC/hGO) is described for simultaneous electrochemical detection of antibacterial medicine nitrofurantoin (NFT) and anti-cancer drug nilutamide (NLT). The XRD, FE-SEM, XPS, and HR-TEM investigation examined the as-prepared p-TC/hGO nanocomposite. The hGO nanosheets build a 3D network and facilitate rapid electron transport by connecting the p-TC flakes. The p-TC/hGO nanocomposite's enlarged surface area and highly exposed reactive sites come from the numerous holes in hGO's basal plan nanosheets and the stacked layer of p-TC with oxygen-containing surface functional groups. The p-TC/hGO modified electrode demonstrated a dramatically improved electrocatalytic performance in the simultaneous detection of NFT and NLT with a low reduction potential, high peak current responsiveness (-53.31 µA for NFT, and −43.85 µA for NLT), and ultra-high high sensitivity (52.8 µA µM−1 cm−2 for NFT, and 19.5 µA µM−1 cm−2 for NLT) in comparison to literature reports. Under optimal conditions, the devised sensor performed well analytically, as evidenced by a low detection limit of 1.2 nM for NFT and 1.9 nM for NLT and substantial recovery results (∼98%, (n = 3)) in artificial urine samples. In addition, the sustainability of the sensor was proved by its outstanding performance in repeatability, reproducibility, and long-term storage (>30 days). In light of this, the present work demonstrates the design of functional electrocatalysts and opens new doors for developing sustainable electrode material for simultaneous electrochemical detection.