A Graphene Oxide-DNA Electrochemical Sensor Based on Glassy Carbon Electrode for Sensitive Determination of Methotrexate

Methotrexate (MTX) was used as an anti-cancer drug, but its excessive use can cause serious side effects, it was necessary to monitor MTX in vivo. In this report, DNA was immobilized on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with graphene oxide (GO) to develop an electrochemical sensor for sensitive determination of MTX for the first time. The adsorptive voltammetric behaviors of MTX on DNA sensor were investigated using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The peak current response of guanine in DNA was used as a determination signal of MTX in acetate buffer solution pH4.6. Voltammetric investigations revealed that the proposed method could determine MTX in the concentration range from 5.5x10(-8) to 2.2x10(-6)molL(-1) with a lower detection limit of 7.6x10(-)9molL(-1) (S/N=3). The method was applied to detect MTX in human blood serum and diluted urine samples with excellent recoveries of 97.4-102.5%. Compared with the previous studies, the DNA/GO/GCE electrode constructed by us based on the change rate of guanine current (R%) in DNA, proportionally reflecting the MTX concentration, is simple and sensitive.