Highly sensitive determination of acyclovir using Ti3C2-CS-MWCNTs-COOH/GCE composite as a sensing platform

Acyclovir (Acyclovir, ACV) is an antiviral drug which, despite its favorable safety profile, can have systemic adverse effects, following improper use. This study prepared a clay-like two-dimensional transition metal carbide Ti3C2 by etching Ti3AlC2 with LiF and HCl. Carboxylated multi walled carbon nanotubes (Carboxylated multi-walled carbon nanotubes, MWCNTs-COOH) were combined with Ti3C2 using chitosan (Chitosan, CS) as solvent and ultrasonic treatment. The nanocomposite was then modified onto the surface of a glassy carbon electrode (Glassy carbon electrode, GCE) to develop an electrochemical sensor for the detection of ACV. The Ti3C2-CS-MWCNTs-COOH/GCE nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffractometry (X-ray diffractometry, XRD), scanning electron microscope (Scanning electron microscope，SEM), and cyclic voltammetry (Cyclic voltammetry，CV), as well as the electrochemical impedance method (Electrochemical impedance，EIS). The successful preparation of Ti3C2-CS-MWCNTs-COOH, and the good electrochemical performance of the electrode were verified. Linear scanning voltammetry (Linear scan voltammetry，LSV) was used to quantify the ACV. The linear range of the method is wider than other works (0.05 ~ 20.0 and 20.0 ~ 500.0 uM), with a low detection limit (0.088 uM). The sensor achieves sensitive detection of ACV and can be used for the analysis of ACV in pharmaceutical and urine dosage forms, with recoveries of 95.5% ~ 97.6% and 95.6% ~ 97.5%, respectively. For the first time, this sensor utilizes clay-like Ti3C2 with a larger specific surface area in combination with MWCNTs-COOH for ACV detection, which exhibits excellent immunity to interference, repeatability, reproducibility, and stability. This method provides a rapid and sensitive method for the determination of ACV, and lays foundations for developing miniaturized field rapid test detectors.