Development of a graphene/B-cyclodextrin-based sensor for the electrochemical detection of ivermectin in effluents

Abstract

This project aims at the development, characterization and application of a new electrochemical sensor for the detection of ivermectin (IVM) in effluents. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused millions of deaths around the world. As a way to control this disease, numerous drugs were tested, however, even without proper scientific evidence, some of them were widely consumed by the Brazilian population. The exacerbated consumption of these medicines exposes the fauna, flora and population of the country to risks of contamination, and traditional methods of water treatment are not able to treat them efficiently. To enhance decontamination, monitoring strategies that present high sensitivity, reproducibility, low cost and the possibility of in situ analysis are needed. Therefore, this project aims to develop an electrochemical platform based on reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and on the macrocyclic host molecule B-cyclodextrin (B-CD) for the analysis of IVM. The detection method is based on the guest-host characteristics of B-CD and on the competitive interaction between the target analyte and the methylene blue (MB) redox probe, resulting in a new methodology for the indirect determination of IVM. (AU)