Surface-grafted MoS₂ for ketoconazole sensing in biological and aqua samples

Fungal infections necessitate crucial antifungal agents, yet despite their effectiveness, these drugs can induce severe reactions, interact with various medications, and have detrimental environmental effects. Consequently, there is a pressing need for accurate, sensitive, and reliable detection methods to mitigate and ideally prevent these potential negative impacts. Due to that, the present work is devoted to a biocompatible β−cyclodextrin (β−CD) functionalized molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) nanocomposite using a liquid exfoliated hydrothermal method. β−CD/MoS₂ was assessed for its electrochemical detection capabilities of ketoconazole (KTZ) by modifying the glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The synthesized β−CD/MoS₂ undergoes thorough characterization using various analytical and spectroscopic techniques, such as X−ray crystallography (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE−SEM), and Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis. Furthermore, the β−CD/MoS₂ sensor is tested under diverse conditions, including scan rate and pH variations, successfully detecting KTZ at concentrations as low as 1.0 nM. It demonstrates an impressive sensitivity of 1.3567 µA µM⁻¹ cm⁻² and a limit of quantification (LOQ) matching at 0.4 nM, surpassing other electrodes in sensing performance. The proposed sensor was successfully applied to determine KTZ in pharmaceutical formulations and biological samples with good recoveries. In addition, the sensor displayed the high selective detection of KTZ in the existence of other co-interferences, good repeatability, reproducibility, and high storage stability. As a result, this method proves to be practical and devoid of any matrix effect on the KTZ sensor.