Ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing of the anticancer drug tirapazamine using an ordered mesoporous carbon modified pyrolytic graphite electrode.

A new ordered mesoporous carbon (OMC) modified pyrolytic graphite electrode (PGE) was prepared to investigate electrochemical behavior of the anticancer drug tirapazamine (TPZ). Compared to the bare PGE, the modified electrode showed an excellent electrochemical response to TPZ. The anodic peak current (I(pa)) of TPZ at the OMC/PGE is 180-fold higher than that of the bare PGE. The I(pa) is proportional with TPZ concentration in the range of 5.0 x 10(-11) to 1.5 x 10(-5) mol L(-1). The linear regression equations are I(pa) (microA)=0.0000044+16.928C(TPZ) (micromolL(-1)), with a detection limit (S/N=3) of 2.0 x 10(-11) mol L(-1). This proposed method can be potentially used for ultrasensitive electrochemical sensing of TPZ in physiological condition.