Carbon nanotube β-cyclodextrin-modified electrode for quantification of cocaine in seized street samples

Detection and quantification of cocaine is a key tool in fields such as police apprehensions and the fight against drug trafficking. Thus, a simple, fast and inexpensive electroanalytical methodology for the determination of cocaine in seized street samples has been developed, employing linear sweep voltammetry. The method is based on the use of a glassy carbon (GC) electrode modified by a combination of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) with β- cyclodextrin (β-CD) incorporated in a polyaniline film. The proposed method shows high reproducibility, repeatability and specificity. Under optimal conditions, the β-CD/ MWCNT-modified GC electrode gives a detection limit of 1.02 μM cocaine. The results obtained are in good agreement with those obtained by the high-performance liquid chromatography reference method. The new methodology proposed has excellent potential as the basis of a portable analytical sensor for on-site screening of cocaine in seized street samples.