A Sensitive Electrochemical Sensor Based on Nano-Zirconium Dioxide/Reduced Graphene Oxide Modified Electrode for Lercanidipine Determination

A highly sensitive electrochemical sensor was developed for the detection of the novel antihypertensive drug lercanidipine (LCP). Using zirconium oxychloride (ZrOCl₂·8H₂O) and graphene oxide (GO) as raw materials, polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (PDDA) as the eco-friendly reducing agent, nano-zirconium dioxide/reduced GO/PDDA (ZrO₂–rGO–PDDA) composite was prepared by hydrothermal synthesis with doped cerium chloride. Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to characterize ZrO₂–rGO–PDDA composite. The electrochemical behavior of LCP at ZrO₂–rGO–PDDA modified glassy carbon electrode (ZrO₂–rGO–PDDA/GCE) was studied by voltammetry. Under optimized measurement conditions, the linear plot between the peak current of LCP and its concentration was found within the range of 4.00 × 10^–7–1.58 × 10^–4 mol/L, with a detection limit of 8.26 × 10^–8 mol/L. This new sensor was employed successfully to determine the content of LCP drug on the market. The spiked recovery experiments showed that the recoveries of LCP ranged from 97.78 to 101.04%. The developed sensor exhibits high sensitivity and accuracy for the determination of LCP.