Cost-effective amperometric sensor for monitoring levofloxacin in groundwater

Abstract

The presence of water micropollutants, such as antibiotics, has proved the necessity to develop novel and cost-effective devices for their identification and quantification. These devices aim to save time, reagent usage, and costs associated with conventional analytical methods. In this work, we introduce poly(methylene blue) based screen-printed electrodes (SPE-PMB) as electrochemical sensors designed for the quantification of levofloxacin (LVX), given its current prevalence as a micropollutant. Integrating the fabrication and measurement processes into a single electrochemical device is a significant step in creating affordable detection tools. The proposed sensor was assessed using LVX solutions prepared in real groundwater samples, demonstrating its selectivity and achieving a detection limit of 3.3 μM. Finally, we compared the SPE-PMB sensor and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to validate its operation and performance. Consequently, our results suggest that the sensor can be a viable alternative to chromatographic methods for identifying and quantifying micropollutants at very low concentrations in complex matrices.