Issue 30, 2025

A portable smartphone-based electrochemical sensing platform for rapid and sensitive detection of creatinine in blood serum

Abstract

Muscle metabolism produces creatinine, a waste product whose levels in the blood and urine are crucial markers of kidney health. Herein, a smartphone-based electrochemical detection strategy was developed to quantify creatinine in human blood serum. Since creatinine was electrochemically inactive, a standard copper solution was added as an electro-activator to produce an electrochemically active creatinine–copper complex. At a pH of 7.4, the creatinine–copper composite was oxidized in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Electrochemical oxidation of the free Cu+ ion in PBS is tested by the surface modification of Ti2C2Tx@poly(L-Arg) nanocomposite. The analytical performance of the developed electrochemical sensor was evaluated by differential pulse voltammetry. The developed electrochemical sensor was evaluated using a combination of techniques: electrochemical methods like cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, morphological analysis with scanning electron microscopy, and structural analysis with attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Notably, the developed sensor demonstrated an impressively low detection limit of 0.05 μM and a linear range of 1–200 μM. Moreover, the sensor remarkably exhibited a stable creatinine detection response with an acceptable reproducibility for two two-week periods and demonstrated a robust immunity against interfering molecules. This is the first report on the synthesis of Ti2C2Tx@poly(L-Arg) nanocomposites and their application in the electrochemical detection of creatinine. This smartphone-based creatinine sensor offers a promising, rapid, and reliable technique for creatinine detection, with potential applications in clinical diagnostics and biomedical research, due to its high sensitivity, selectivity, and portability.

Graphical abstract: A portable smartphone-based electrochemical sensing platform for rapid and sensitive detection of creatinine in blood serum

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
03 May 2025
Accepted
27 Jun 2025
First published
15 Jul 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

RSC Adv., 2025,15, 24917-24929

A portable smartphone-based electrochemical sensing platform for rapid and sensitive detection of creatinine in blood serum

R. Rayhan, Md. I. Haque Shishir, Md. A. Khaleque, Md. R. Amin, Md. R. Ali, M. Aly Saad Aly, S. M. Ayon, R. Saidur, T. Han Kim, Md. A. Zaed and Md. Z. Hossain Khan, RSC Adv., 2025, 15, 24917 DOI: 10.1039/D5RA03128A

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