Imprinted ZnO nanostructure-based electrochemical sensing of calcitonin: A clinical marker for medullary thyroid carcinoma

•Molecular imprinting-based sensor for medullary thyroid carcinoma marker was developed.•ZnO nanostructure was used as a platform for synthesis of imprinted polymer.•Imprinted polymer was prepared by ARGET–ATRP method.•A novel and biocompatible tyrosine amino acid derivative was used as monomer.•Linear working range is found from 9.99 ng L−1 to 7.919 mg L−1 with LOD 3.09 ng L−1.

The present work describes an exciting method for the selective and sensitive determination of calcitonin in human blood serum samples. Adopting the surface molecular imprinting technique, a calcitonin-imprinted polymer was prepared on the surface of the zinc oxide nanostructure. Firstly, a biocompatible tyrosine derivative as a monomer was grafted onto the surface of zinc oxide nanostructure followed by their polymerization on vinyl functionalized electrode surface by activator regenerated by electron transfer–atom transfer radical polymerization (ARGET–ATRP) technique. Such sensor can predict the small change in the concentration of calcitonin in the human body and it may also consider to be as cost-effective, renewable, disposable, and reliable for clinical studies having no such cross-reactivity and matrix effect from real samples. The morphologies and properties of the proposed sensor were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, difference pulse voltammetry and chronocoulometry. The linear working range was found to be 9.99 ng L−1 to 7.919 mg L−1 and the detection limit as low as 3.09 ± 0.01 ng L−1 (standard deviation for three replicate measurements) (S/N = 3).

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