An ultra-sensitive electrochemical sensor for the detection of carcinogen oxidative stress 4nitroquinoline N-oxide in biologic matrices based on hierarchical spinel structured NiCo₂O₄ and NiCo₂S₄; a comparative study

Various factors leads to cancer; among them oxidative damage is believed to play an important role. Moreover, it is important to identify a method to detect the oxidative damage. Recently, electrochemical sensors have been considered as the one of the most important techniques to detect DNA damage, owing to its rapid detection. However, electrode materials play an important role in the properties of electrochemical sensor. Currently, researchers have aimed to develop novel electrode materials for low-level detection of biomarkers. Herein, we report the facile hydrothermal synthesis of NiCo₂O₄ micro flowers (MFs) and NiCo₂S₄ micro spheres (Ms) and evaluate their electrochemical properties for the detection of carcinogen-causing biomarker 4nitroquinoline n-oxide (4-NQO) in human blood serum and saliva samples. Moreover, as-prepared composites were fabricated on a glass carbon electrode (GCE), and its electrochemical activities for the determination of 4-NQO were investigated by using various electrochemical techniques. Fascinatingly, the NiCo₂S₄-Ms showed a very low detection limit of 2.29 nM and a wider range of 0.005 to 596.64 µM for detecting 4-NQO. Finally, the practical applicability of NiCo₂S₄-Ms in the 4NQO spiked human blood serum and saliva samples were also investigated.