Paper-Based Potentiometric Device for Rapid and Selective Determination of Salicylhydroxamate as a Urinary Struvite Stone Inhibitor

From challenge to opportunity: Revolutionizing the monitoring of emerging contaminants in water with advanced sensors

Emerging contaminants in water represent long-term and unpredictable threats to both environmental and human health due to their persistence and bioaccumulation. Current research predominantly focuses on their removal rather than sustained monitoring. This review comprehensively investigates advanced sensor technologies for detecting these contaminants in water, critically evaluating biosensors, optical sensors, electrochemical sensors, and nanomaterial sensors. Elucidating the operational principles, performance metrics such as detection thresholds, and the pros and cons of their practical applications, the review addresses a significant research gap in environmental monitoring. Moreover, it enhances understanding of sensor effectiveness, which in turn guides researchers in selecting the right sensor types for various environmental scenarios. Furthermore, by emphasizing the integration of nanotechnology and the standardization of evaluation protocols, it promotes the development of robust, deployable sensing solutions. Ultimately, this leads to the proposal of a strategic framework aimed at significantly improving the detection capabilities of emerging contaminants and supporting the preservation of environmental health.

Non-enzymatic paper-based analytical device for direct potentiometric detection of urine creatinine

A paper-based analytical device (PAD) with an integrated composite electrode has been designed and fabricated for non-enzymatic creatinine sensing. Reduced graphene oxide (rGO) was employed to modify the PAD so that it could function as a solid-contact transducer. A new macrocyclic pyrido-hexapeptide derivative was made and used as a special ionophore in the creatinine membrane sensor. The synthesized PAD showed a detection limit of 1.0 µM (S/N = 3) and a potentiometric response towards creatinine throughout a log-linear range of 2.0 µM-10 mM (R2 = 0.9998). The sensor shows significant selectivity for a few related substances, including ephedrine, codeine, ketamine, caffeine, urea, urate, carbinoxamine, and dextromethorphan. It has been established that the testing method is appropriate for the direct potentiometric detection of creatinine in a variety of human urine sample types. When an indicating electrode and a reference electrode are put on the same flexible disposable, this lets applications with a small sample volume be done. For point-of-care creatinine measurement, the developed paper-based analytical equipment is a good choice because it is affordable, easily accessible, and self-pumping (especially when combined with potentiometric detection).

Ultrasensitive functionalized CeO2/ZnO nanocomposite sensor for determination of a prohibited narcotic in sports pethidine hydrochloride

The extraordinary features of cerium oxide (CeO₂) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures have encouraged substantial attention to those nanocomposites as probable electroactive complexes for sensing and biosensing purposes. In this study, an advanced novel factionalized CeO₂/ZnO nanocomposite-aluminum wire membrane sensor was designed to assess pethidine hydrochloride (PTD) in commercial injection samples. Pethidine-reineckate (PTD-RK) was formed by mixing pethidine hydrochloride and ammonium reineckate (ARK) in the presence of polymeric matrix (polyvinyl chloride) and o-nitrophenyl octyl ether as a fluidizing agent. The functionalized nanocomposite sensor displayed a fast dynamic response and wide linearity for the detection of PTD. It also revealed excellent selectivity and sensitivity, high accuracy, and precision for the determination and quantification of PTD when compared with the unmodified sensor PTD-RK. The guidelines of analytical methodology requirements were obeyed to improve the suitability and validity of the suggested potentiometric system according to several criteria. The developed potentiometric system was suitable for the determination of PTD in bulk powder and commercial products.

Amr AEG, Almehizia AA, Naglah AM, H. Kamel A. New Potentiometric Screen-Printed Platforms Modified with Reduced Graphene Oxide and Based on Man-Made Imprinted Receptors for Caffeine Assessment

Caffeine is a psychoactive drug that is administered as a class II psychotropic substance. It is also considered a component of analgesics and cold medicines. Excessive intake of caffeine may lead to severe health damage or drug addiction problems. The assessment of normal caffeine consumption from abusive use is not conclusive, and the cut-off value for biological samples has not been established. Herein, new cost-effective and robust all-solid-state platforms based on potentiometric transduction were fabricated and successfully utilized for caffeine assessment. The platforms were modified with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Tailored caffeine-imprinted polymeric beads (MIPs) based on methacrylic acid (MAA) and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate (EGDMA) were prepared, characterized, and used as recognition receptors in the presented potentiometric sensing devices. In 50 mM MES buffer, the sensors exhibited a slope response of 51.2 ± 0.9 mV/decade (n = 6, R2 = 0.997) over the linear range of 4.5 × 10−6−1.0 × 10−3 M with a detection limit of 3.0 × 10−6 M. They exhibited fast detection of caffeinium ions with less than 5 s response time (<5 s). The behavior of the presented sensors towards caffeinium ions over many common organic and inorganic cations was evaluated using the modified separate solution method (MSSM). Inter-day and intra-day precision for the presented analytical device was also evaluated. Successful applications of the presented caffeine sensors for caffeine determination in commercial tea and coffee and different pharmaceutical formulations were carried out. The data obtained were compared with those obtained by the standard liquid chromatographic approach. The presented analytical device can be considered an attractive tool for caffeine determination because of its affordability and vast availability, particularly when combined with potentiometric detection.