Electrochemical Detection of Sulfonamide Antibiotics

Electrochemical detection of sulfonamide antibiotics has emerged as a versatile approach for sensitive, rapid and in situ monitoring of these widely-used antimicrobial agents. The core principle relies on redox processes at the electrode–solution interface, where the electroactive moiety of sulfonamides undergoes oxidation or reduction under controlled potential. By integrating nanostructured materials—such as graphene derivatives, transition-metal dichalcogenides and metal oxide nanorods—into electrode architectures, researchers have achieved enhanced electron transfer kinetics, large effective surface areas and improved selectivity towards target analytes. Techniques including cyclic voltammetry, differential pulse voltammetry and square-wave voltammetry are routinely employed to quantify sulfonamide concentrations over broad linear ranges, often reaching nanomolar detection limits. Electrodes may be customised via molecular imprinting, ionic liquid modification or screen-printing to confer specific recognition, minimise fouling and facilitate on-site deployment. Applications span environmental surveillance of water bodies, quality control in pharmaceutical manufacturing and residue analysis in food products. Advances in sensor stability, reproducibility and interference resistance have positioned electrochemical methods as a compelling complement to chromatographic and spectrometric techniques, offering operational simplicity, low cost and compatibility with portable instrumentation.

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Electrochemical Detection of Sulfonamide Antibiotics publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in electrochemical detection of sulfonamide antibiotics across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Sulfonamide antibiotics: Synthetic antimicrobial agents containing a sulfonamide moiety, widely used in human and veterinary medicine and requiring trace-level detection in environmental and biological samples.

Limit of detection (LOD): The lowest concentration of an analyte that can be reliably distinguished from background noise by an analytical method.

Linear range: The concentration span over which the sensor response is directly proportional to analyte concentration.

Screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE): A low-cost, disposable electrode fabricated by depositing conductive carbon ink onto a substrate, enabling portable electrochemical measurements.

Molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP): A synthetic polymer network formed in the presence of a template molecule, generating selective binding sites for target analyte recognition.

References

1. Electrochemical detection of sulfanilamide using tannic acid exfoliated MoS2 nanosheets combined with reduced graphene oxide/graphite. Environmental Research (2024).
2. Voltammetric determination of sulfamethoxazole using commercial screen-printed carbon electrodes. Microchemical Journal (2023).
3. Application of MnO2 Nanorod–Ionic Liquid Modified Carbon Paste Electrode for the Voltammetric Determination of Sulfanilamide. Micromachines (2022).