A novel metronidazole electrochemical sensor based on surface imprinted vertically cross-linked two-dimensional Sn3O4 nanoplates

Abstract

In this work, a kind of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) was prepared by using metronidazole (MNZ) as the template, pyrrole as the functional monomer and vertically cross-linked two-dimensional Sn₃O₄ (2D Sn₃O₄) nanoplates as the support. The developed MIP/2D Sn₃O₄ was characterized by SEM, XRD, XPS and FT-IR. It was used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to construct a novel MNZ electrochemical sensor. Parameters affecting the performance of the sensor were thoroughly investigated and optimized. The results revealed that 2D Sn₃O₄ is promising as a support for MNZ imprinting. Owing to the 2D structure, large active surface, functionalization and high electrical conductivity, the MIP/2D Sn₃O₄ modified electrode showed a wide linear range and low detection limit. The differential pulse voltammetric peak currents produced on the MIP/2D Sn₃O₄ electrochemical sensor showed a linear relationship for concentrations of MNZ in the range of 0.025–2.5 μM. The detection limit of this sensor was down to 0.0032 μM (S/N = 3). This MIP/2D Sn₃O₄ sensor was successfully used to detect MNZ in honeybee samples without any separation or accumulation processes, demonstrating that MIP/2D Sn₃O₄ is a promising biomimetic material for use in electroanalysis and other relevant fields.