Reticular synthesis of a conductive composite derived from metal-organic framework and Mxene for the electrochemical detection of dopamine

There is a great demand for the development of electrochemical sensors dealing with reagent-free detection of neurochemicals such as dopamine (DA). This study deals with the synthesis of a nanocomposite prepared from non-conductive [Zn4(btec)2(H2O)6]n·3nH2O (H4BTC = 1,2,4,5-benzene-tetra carboxylate) metal-organic framework (MOF) and titanium-based MXene (Ti3C2) as a conductive probe for the voltammetry detection of redox-active dopamine (DA). The electrochemical sensor for DA was prepared with a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) which is modified with a layer of nanocomposite (MOF–Ti3C2). The modified GCE was used for the detection of DA in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA) and 5-aminovaleric acid (VA) in PBS (0.1 M, pH; 6.5). The MOF-Ti3C2-based GCE demonstrated the detection limit of 110 nM for DA sensing in a linear concentration range (90–300 nM).