Wireless & portable smartphone assisted electrochemical platform for on-site monitoring of chloramphenicol drug

Abstract

Precise detection of antibiotic residues such as chloramphenicol (CAP) remains challenging due to their widespread use in veterinary, food, medical, and environmental sectors. Herein, we report a smartphone-assisted electrochemical sensor with graphene oxide (GO) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) for the sensitive detection of CAP. The system integrates with both a traditional Autolab potentiostat and a pocket size Palmsens potentiostat. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) studies of GO@MWCNT nanocomposite exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity, with a linear detection range of 0–600 μM, a limit of detection (LOD) of 46 nM (S/N = 3), and sensitivity of 1.71 μA μM−1 cm−2. The sensor showed excellent stability (∼90 % retention after 21 days) and reproducibility (RSD <3 %). A strong correlation between Autolab and smartphone-based results validated the reliability of the system. This is the first report of a smartphone-assisted platform for CAP detection, enabling wireless, Bluetooth enabled, and real-time analysis via a user-friendly smart phone application. The sensor performed effectively in milk, tap water, eye drops, capsules, and human blood serum, with good recoveries. A reusability/regeneration study confirmed the potential of the platform as a cost-effective, field-deployable POC diagnostic tool. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.