Three-dimensional AuNRs/MXene/NFs -based SERS platform for determination of quetiapine in urine

Determination of antipsychotic drugs in humans is meaningful for both individualized therapy and therapeutic drug monitoring. Quetiapine (QTP), as one of the newly developed antipsychotic drugs, may pose risks to human health if used improperly. In this work, we synthesized a three-dimensional (3D) Au nanorods/MXene (Ti₃C₂T_x)/nickel foams (named as AuNRs/MXene/NFs) composite material for detecting the antipsychotic drugs QTP. The prepared negatively charged MXene was first assembled on the surface of the NFs through electrostatic interaction to form MXene/NFs, and then the prepared AuNRs were anchored on the MXene/NFs to obtain the final 3D AuNRs/MXene/NFs. By integrating the porous structure and magnetic properties of NFs, large specific surface area of MXene, and the plasmonic hot spots of Au nanorods, the AuNRs/MXene/NFs-based SERS platform can easily and sensitively detect QTP in human urine with the limit of detection of 1.71 × 10^-9 mol/L. The linearity was distinguished over the concentration range of QTP from 1 × 10^-7 to 1 × 10^-4 mol/L (calculated at 1030 cm^-1), with correlation coefficients (R²) of 0.9955. The presented AuNRs/MXene/NFs-based SERS strategy realizes QTP detection using SERS technology and provides a novel protocol for the therapeutic drug monitoring.