Rifampicin determination in human serum and urine based on a disposable carbon paste microelectrode modified with a hollow manganese oxide@mesoporous silica oxide core-shell nanohybrid

This work designed a simple, sensitive, low-cost, and disposable electrochemical platform for the detection of antibiotic rifampicin (RIF) by using a hollow manganese oxide@mesoporous silica oxide (Mn3O4@SiO2) core-shell nanohybrid as sensitive material. The Mn3O4@SiO2 core-shell nanohybrid, prepared by a facile polyacrylic acid soft templating method, was applied to modify a homemade carbon paste microelectrode, which provided a feasible pathway for electron transfer of RIF due to the low density, large surface area, excellent loading capacity, high permeability, and abundant amount of active sites. The electrocatalytic behavior was further used for sensitive detection of RIF by square wave voltammetry. Under optimal conditions, the calibration curve was linear in the range from 30 nmol/L to 3.0 μmol/L. The electrochemical method showed good stability, reproducibility, and selectivity. It could effectively be applied to the determination of RIF in human serum and urine samples.