A new sensing platform for electrochemical assay of amitriptyline based on molecularly imprinted polymer/NiCo2O4 modified carbon cloth

In this study, a new electrochemical sensing strategy is presented for amitriptyline (AMT) by a molecularly imprinted polymer/NiCo2O4 (MIP/NCO) as an electrode modifier on a carbon cloth (CC). The AMT/imprinted polymer ratio was first optimized by means of the density functional theory (DFT) model. The successful formation of the electrode materials was assessed via several characterizations such as X-ray diffraction and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The findings confirmed the nearly complete extraction of the template from the polymer network. The electrochemical properties of the eluted MIP/NCO/CC (EMIP/NCO/CC) were also appraised using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The constructed sensor demonstrated the superior detection efficiency towards the oxidation of AMT in phosphate buffer solution (PB, pH =7) with a broad linear range from 0.01 μM to 1 μM, a high sensitivity of 58 µA/µM cm2, and a low limit of detection of 2.39 nM. The interfering agents had no significant influence on the detection of AMT. The analysis of AMT in real samples yielded satisfactory results as well. This electrode was particularly well-suited for prospective applications in drug determination owing to its great sensitivity, easy regeneration, and modification with EMIP/NCO.