Amperometric sensing of anti-HIV drug zidovudine on Ag nanofilm-multiwalled carbon nanotubes modified glassy carbon electrode

• New anti-HIV drug sensor was fabricated on the basis of nanomaterials composite.
• The GCE modified by prepared hydrophilic MWCNT silver nanoparticles.
• Silver nanofilm electrodeposited on MWCNT/GCE and characterized by SEM, EDX, CV and LSV
• Response of electrode to ZDV was thoroughly investigated by electrochemical techniques.

The zidovudine (ZDV) is the first drug approved for the treatment of HIV virus infection. The detection and determination of this drug are very importance in human serum because of its undesirable effects. A new ZDV sensor was fabricated on the basis of nanocomposite of silver nanofilm (Ag-NF) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) immobilized on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The modified electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) techniques. Results showed that the electrodeposited silver has a nanofilm structure and further electrochemical studies showed that the prepared nanocomposite has high electrocatalytic activity and is appropriate for using in sensors. The amperometric technique under optimal conditions is used for the determination of ZDV ranging from 0.1 to 400 ppm (0.37 μM–1.5 mM) with a low detection limit of 0.04 ppm (0.15 μM) (S/N = 3) and good sensitivity. The prepared sensor possessed accurate and rapid response to ZDV and shows an average recovery of 98.6% in real samples.

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