A low-cost and facile electrochemical sensor for the trace-level recognition of flutamide in biofluids using large-area bimetallic NiCo2O4 micro flowers

Abstract

In this work, we demonstrate a simplistic, substrate-free hydrothermal synthesis of the nickel–cobalt-based bimetallic oxide compound (NiCo₂O₄) as a highly sensitive and selective platform for the detection of flutamide in biological fluids. The NCO/GCE sensor shows a low detection limit (LOD) of 4 nM (LOD = 3s/m). The sensor shows two linear ranges of detection, namely nanomolar (10–500 nM) and micromolar (1–400 μM) with a sensitivity of 120.17 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻² and 23.18 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻², respectively. The enhanced sensing performance of the sensor is attributed to the electro-catalytic active sites of the NOC micro flowers facilitated with the Ni²⁺/Ni³⁺ and Co²⁺/Co³⁺ redox couple. The sensor is efficacious in the detection of flutamide in simulated blood serum with a decent range of recovery percentages from ∼106.45 to ∼97.60%. The efficacy of the NCO/GCE sensor using a facile, low-cost method prompts its versatile use as a promising platform for bioanalytical applications.