Innovative Molecularly Imprinted Electrochemical Sensor for Selective Nanomolar Detection of the Anti-COVID-19 Medication Molnupiravir

Abstract

For the first time, a green ecofriendly approach is applied, to develop a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) electrochemical for the assay of the oral anti-viral molnupiravir (MLN) as confirmed on referring to: analytical eco-scale, green analytical procedure index (GAPI), Raynie and Driver, analytical greenness metric (AGREE), and national environmental index (NEMI). MIP was electropolymerized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with gold nanoparticles (MIP/AuNPs/GCE) to create a selective and efficient electrochemical nanosensor. The detection limit was set at 0.00098 ng/mL (3×10-12M) and the linearity range of MLN was between 0.033 ng/mL and 164 ng/mL (1×10-10–5×10-7 M). The MIP sensor was employed for MLN determination in its pharmaceutical product , spiked human plasma, and urine samples with mean recovery % (99.82% ± 0.53), (99.88% ± 0.62), and (97.90% ± 0.70), respectively. The investigated sensor provided good reproducibility, repeatability, and durability. Acceptable selectivity regarding MLN when mixed with structurally comparable compounds was proved with mean recovery % ± mean RSD (97.10% ± 0.03). Additionally, when molnupiravir was exposed to oxidative, hydrolytic, and thermal stress conditions, good results in stability-indicating studies served as an indicator of sensor selectivity.The developed electrode is coupled with a portable potentiostat, making it a promising point-of-care diagnostic.