Construction of a highly sensitive electrochemical sensing platform using an Au-RGO-MWCNTs nanocomposite for the synergistic amplification of rutin detection

Abstract

Rutin, a naturally occurring bioactive flavonoid glycoside, has considerable medicinal importance, making its accurate and rapid detection of great significance. Herein, we report a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the determination of rutin, which employs a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with a nanocomposite composed of gold nanoparticles, reduced graphene oxide, and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (Au-RGO-MWCNTs). The Au-RGO-MWCNTs can provide a stable electrode interface with high surface area and robust catalytic activity for rutin sensing. Under optimized conditions, the sensor exhibits a broad linear response range (8.0–1000.0 µmol L−1), a low limit of detection (1.3 µmol L−1) and high sensitivity (0.1897 μA μmo L–1). The sensor also exhibits excellent stability, retaining 90% of its initial response after 30 days. Practical applicability has been validated through quantitative analysis of rutin in three types of traditional Chinese medicinal materials, yielding recoveries between 92.0% and 102.0% and confirming good reproducibility. These findings underscore the promise of Au-RGO-MWCNTs sensor as a reliable analytical tool for sensitive, stable and selective rutin detection in real-world samples.