A novel sensor based on multi-walled carbon nanotubes and boron-doped double-layer molecularly imprinted membrane for the analysis of SCZ in pharmaceutical and biological samples

A molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor for the rapid detection of the anti-parasitic drug Secnidazole (SCZ) is reported. In this work, the build electrochemical sensor was based on a carbon paste electrode (CPE) modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and boron-embedded duplex molecularly imprinted composite membranes (B-DMICMs), that significantly increased the efficiency of the sensor for the detection of template molecule SCZ. Density functional theory (DFT) was employed to study the interactions between the template and monomers to select appropriate functional monomers for rational design of the B-DMICMs.The optimal experimental conditions were optimised for the factors affecting the performance of the sensor. Under the optimal conditions, the reduction peak currents of SCZ by differential pulse voltammetry increased linearly with SCZ concentration in the range from 3.0 × 10−4 to 1.0 × 1.0−6 mol L−1 and 1.0 × 1.0−6 to 1.91 × 10−8 mol L−1 with a detection limit of 1.72 × 10−8 mol L−1 for secnidazole, which is significantly lower than those in the currently used methods and in previous reports. This method offers low cost, sensitive and effective determination of SCZ and can potentially be used for detection of SCZ in pharmaceutical and biological samples with good precision and accuracy.