Low-potential ciprofloxacin detection in wound exudate via docking-guided molecular imprinting and redox-active...

Accurate quantification of ciprofloxacin (CIP) in wound exudate is important for assessing local antibiotic exposure and supporting rational wound infection management. However, direct electrooxidation of CIP requires a high working potential and is susceptible to interference from endogenous electroactive species in complex wound matrices. Here, we developed a redox-active reporter-mediated molecularly imprinted electrochemical sensor (RAR-MIECS) for low-potential CIP quantification across non-infected and infected wound microenvironments. Moldina-assisted multiple-ligand docking guided the construction of a dual-monomer imprinted interface composed of 3-aminophenylboronic acid and pyrrole for selective CIP recognition. Stepwise electrodeposition of RAR films converted CIP rebinding-induced interfacial blocking into a signal-off response near 0 V. Compared with direct CIP electrooxidation, RAR-mediated transduction shifted the operating potential window by approximately 0.7 V toward negative potentials and increased the current difference by approximately 10-fold. Because distinct differential pulse voltammetric responses were observed in simulated non-infected and infected wound fluids, microenvironment-matched calibration relationships were established at pH 6.5 and 7.4. The RAR-MIECS showed linear responses over 0.001-100 μM in both media, with detection limits of 0.142 and 0.126 nM, respectively, together with good selectivity, interference resistance, reproducibility, and stability. Spike-recovery analysis in murine wound exudate samples yielded recoveries of 98.0%-106.0% for 5-20 μM CIP, with relative standard deviations below 7%. This microenvironment-matched platform provides a low-interference strategy for reliable CIP quantification in complex wound-exudate matrices and offers an analytical basis for future concentration-guided anti-infective wound management.