ELECTROCHEMICAL DETERMINATION OF METHOTREXATE AT A DISPOSABLE SCREEN-PRINTED ELECTRODE AND ITS APPLICATION STUDIES

Methotrexate is widely used for treatment of various neoplastic diseases. The present work details the voltammetric analysis of Methotrexate at a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) modified screen-printed electrode (SPE). The fabrication and evaluation of MWNT-derived screen-printed electrochemical sensors based on a MWNT ink are reported. The fabricated MWNT strips combine the attractive advantages of CNT materials and disposable screen printed electrodes. The anodic voltammetric behavior of methotrexate was studied using cyclic and square-wave voltammetric techniques in tris-HCl (pH = 7.5) solution. The oxidation of methotrexate was an irreversible adsorptive-driven process. The experimental conditions such as carbon ink, MWNT, pH, the concentration, and nature of buffer were investigated to optimize the determination of methotrexate. Under optimum conditions, the square-wave voltammetric peak currents were in a linear relationship to methotrexate concentrations in the range of 5.0 x 10(-7) M-1.0 x 10(-4) M with a detection limit of 1.0 x 10(-7) M. The MWNT/SPE showed good stability, selectivity, and was successfully used to quantify methotrexate in pharmaceutical formulations.