Ofloxacin and norfloxacin simultaneous detection by ERGO/GCE and its application in medicine and aquaculture wastewater

• Published in: Research on chemical intermediates Vol. 49; no. 2; pp. 741 - 761
• Main Authors: Wang, Yunhan, Cui, Yanping, Wang, Haili, Ye, Qian, Duo, Xuewen, Lu, Yue, Cui, Xiaoxiao, Dong, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.02.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal husbandry; Antibiotics; Aquaculture; Catalysis; Chemical reduction; Chemical sensors; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrodes; Fourier transforms; Glassy carbon; Graphene; Groundwater; Infrared analysis; Inorganic Chemistry; Molecular structure; Norfloxacin; Oxidation; Physical Chemistry; Surface water; Wastewater; Fluoroquinolones; Electrochemical detection; Norfloxacin; Ofloxacin; Graphene
• ISSN: 0922-6168; 1568-5675
• DOI: 10.1007/s11164-022-04892-6

Ofloxacin (OFLX) and norfloxacin (NFLX) are typical quinolone antibacterials used in medicine, aquaculture, and animal husbandry in China. The abusive use of antibiotics has led to the presence of OFLX and NFLX in surface water and groundwater. Due to similarities in the molecular structure of OFLX and NFLX, their simultaneous detection has been challenging. In this study, a simple and highly sensitive electrochemical sensor for the simultaneous detection of OFLX and NFLX was developed using a graphene modified glassy carbon electrode (ERGO/GCE), which was prepared by the electrochemical reduction method. With electrochemical reduction, oxygen-containing groups in graphene oxide (GO) were deoxidized to electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ERGO) and can effectively separate the overlapping oxidation peaks of OFLX and NFLX with a 136 mV peak potential difference. The mechanism of these oxidation processes was analyzed by comparing the Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) of OFLX and NFLX electrochemical response on prepared modified electrodes. The limitations of this electrochemical method in terms of simultaneous detection are as follows: 1.25 μM for OFLX and 2.44 μM for NFLX. This detection method was also applied in medicine and aquaculture wastewater with satisfactory results.