Composites of nano-flower copper nanoparticles and well dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes for the voltammetric detection of moxifloxacin in pork

An electrochemical sensor was fabricated on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with nano-flower structured copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) and well dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the detection of Moxifloxacin (MOX). The dispersion effect of using N, N-Dimethylformamide (DMF) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) to disperse MWCNTs which can amplify the signal 4 folds. The as-prepared CuNPs/MWCNTs/GCE sensor can amplify the signal 5 folds compared with bare GCE. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the linear relationship of MOX detection in the 5.00–1000.00 μmol·L−1 range was obtained and the limit of detection (LOD) was 0.205 μmol·L−1 using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The CuNPs/MWCNTs/GCE sensor exhibited excellent selectivity, reproducibility and stability, which was used to detect the MOX in pork sample with the standard addition recovery method. The recovery rate ranged between 102.75–104.14 %, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was less than 6 %. The results of this study contribute to the detection of antibiotics in food.