Electrochemical sensor for detection of imipramine antidepressant at low potential based on oxidized carbon nanotubes, ferrocenecarboxylic acid, and cyclodextrin: application in psychotropic drugs and urine samples

Imipramine (IMP), a tricyclic antidepressant drug, is commonly prescribed for treatment of psychiatric patients suffering from different forms of depression. The appropriate amount of drug intake is crucial to ensure the optimum therapeutic effects minimizing severe collateral effects and toxicity. Therefore, the monitoring of imipramine is essential for its clinical applications. Herein, we report an electrochemical sensor based on a composite of ferrocenecarboxylic acid (FCA), β-cyclodextrin (CD), and oxidized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (f-CNT) modified glassy carbon electrode for detection of IMP at low potential. The electrochemical behavior of the proposed sensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and cyclic voltammetry. The results show that imipramine determination using the proposed sensor occurs around 0 V vs Ag/AgCl in phosphate buffer pH 7.0. The calibration curves were obtained by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry, with linear ranges of 10 to 350 μmol L−1 and 0.1 to 10 μmol L−1, respectively. A detection limit of 0.03 μmol L−1 was obtained for the detection of IMP. The sensor was applied for IMP determination in psychotropic drugs and urine samples and the results show a recovery percentage between 99 and 101% for the analyte.