A low-cost and facile electrochemical sensor for the trace-level recognition of flutamide in biofluids using large-area bimetallic NiCo2O4 micro flowers

In this work, we demonstrate a simplistic, substrate-free hydrothermal synthesis of the nickel-cobalt-based bimetallic oxide compound (NiCo2O4) as a highly sensitive and selective platform for the detection of flutamide in biological fluids. The NCO/GCE sensor shows a low detection limit (LOD) of 4 nM (LOD = 3s/m). The sensor shows two linear ranges of detection, namely nanomolar (10-500 nM) and micromolar (1-400 mu M) with a sensitivity of 120.17 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2) and 23.18 mu A mu M-1 cm(-2), respectively. The enhanced sensing performance of the sensor is attributed to the electro-catalytic active sites of the NOC micro flowers facilitated with the Ni2+/Ni3+ and Co2+/Co3+ redox couple. The sensor is efficacious in the detection of flutamide in simulated blood serum with a decent range of recovery percentages from similar to 106.45 to similar to 97.60%. The efficacy of the NCO/GCE sensor using a facile, low-cost method prompts its versatile use as a promising platform for bioanalytical applications.

Automated summary

In this work, a substrate-free hydrothermal synthesis method was used to fabricate a nickel-cobalt-based bimetallic oxide compound as a highly sensitive and selective platform for detecting flutamide in biological fluids. The sensor demonstrated a low detection limit and two linear detection ranges, showing promising potential for bioanalytical applications.