Amplifying Flutamide Sensing through the Synergetic Combination of Actinidia-Derived Carbon Particles and WS ₂ Platelets

Abstract

The development of electrochemical sensors for flutamide detection is a crucial step in biomedical research and environmental monitoring. In this study, a composite of Actinidia-derived carbon particles (CPs) and tungsten disulfide (WS ₂) was formed and used as an electrocatalyst for the electrochemical detection of flutamide. The CPs had an average diameter of 500 nm and contained surface hydroxyl and carbonyl groups. These groups may help anchor the CPs onto the WS ₂ platelets, resulting in the formation of a CPs-WS ₂ nanocomposite with a high surface area and a conducting network, enabling electron transfer. Using the CPs-WS ₂ composite supported at a glassy carbon electrode, a linear concentration range extending from 1 nM to 104 μM, a limit of detection of 0.74 nM, and a sensitivity of 26.9 ± 0.7 μA μM ^–1 cm ^–2 were obtained in the detection of flutamide in a phosphate buffer. The sensor showed good recovery, ranging from 88.47 to 95.02%, in river water samples, and exhibited very good selectivity in the presence of inorganic ions, including Al ³⁺, Co ²⁺, Cu ²⁺, Fe ³⁺, Zn ²⁺, NO ₃ ^–, SO ₄ ^2–, CO ₃ ^2–, and Cl ^–.