Fast detection of local anesthetic levobupivacaine by impedance method on PPy/SWCNT.

Fast response electrochemical impedance (EI) method was developed to detect concentrations of local anesthetic Levobupivacaine. It revealed the EI method possessed fast response and recovery times and the lowest detected concentration was 1 ppm. Pyrrole was electrochemically polymerized to polypyrrole and made a composite with single walled carbon nanotubes coated over gold electrodes for sensing studies. Ppy and Ppy/SWCNT composite materials were coated upon Au electrodes and characterized by UV/Vis, Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR), Cyclic Voltammetry (CV) and Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). Various concentrations of levobupivacaine in the range, 1 to 500 ppm were prepared in medically significant saline solution of 0.9% NaCI as test samples. A 10-kHz frequency was used for the calibration curve, and the short response and recovery time were tested as 5 s and 3 s, respectively. The Ppy/SWCNT material with R2 as 0.9971 showed better linearity than Ppy material. Using molecular dynamic simulation studies exothermic adsorption energies and bond lengths have been calculated and explained the fast response time and lower impedance of Ppy/SWCNT than Ppy.