3D walnut-like rare-earth gadolinium molybdate encapsulated with thermo-responsive hydrogel for sensitive electrochemical detection of anticancer drug Niftolide in human urine

Prostate cancer is ranked as the second most common type of cancer in men and has a high mortality rate. Niftolide (NIFT), a non-steroidal antiandrogen drug, has been extensively used in the treatment of prostate cancer; however, its improper and excessive use can lead to unwanted side effects and complications to the body. In this study, we synthesized a novel rare-earth gadolinium molybdate encapsulated with thermo-responsive hydrogel composite (PNIPAM/GdMo) using a simple precipitation technique for electro-catalytic detection of NIFT in human urine samples. Urea (NH2CONH2) and Ethylene glycol (EG; (CH2OH)2) used in the synthesis process exhibited a bifunctional behavior by simultaneously acting as a reducing agent and enhancing the 3D morphological structure. In addition, the encapsulation of the PNIPAM with GdMo particles showed a significant synergic effect and a high surface area. The morphological, structural, chemical components, and electro-catalytic properties of the composite are studied by various analytical and electro-catalytic techniques. The electro-catalytic studies indicated a significant improvement in the current response of the sensor at 40 °C as compared to 20 °C, which makes it a temperature-enabled reversible sensor. The proposed sensor exhibited excellent limit of detection (LOD) of 5 nM, linear range (LR) of 0.01–4, 8 − 400 µM, and sensitivity of 1.1858 µA µM−1 cm−2. Moreover, the anti-interference ability, reproducibility, and stability reinforced the practical applicability of the proposed sensor for the electro-catalytic detection of NIFT quantity in human urine samples. The sensor showed an excellent recovery rate with RSD of less than 3%, which authenticates its potential for real-time applications.