Tungsten Trioxide/Hexagonal Boron Nitride Heterointerface for a Disposable Electrochemical Detection of Methotrexate Anticancer Drug

In this work, we prepared the 2D/2D heterostructure of tungsten trioxide/hexagonal boron nitride (WO3/h-BN) with a modified screen-printed carbon electrode (WO3/h-BN/SPCE) for the electrochemical detection of methotrexate (MTX). MTX is a potent anticancer medication, but its severe off-target toxicity limits it. As a result, accurate measurement of MTX levels is necessary to provide medical practitioners with vital clinical information. Most importantly, we explored the 2D configuration of the WO3 material on the 2D interface of h-BN to achieve an effective heterostructure configuration, which opens a new avenue for electrochemical applications. The 2D/2D integration of WO3/h-BN enhances the development of active sites, promoting expedited charge transfer and increased electronic conductivity. The material characterization confirms the effective formation of the prepared materials, and the electrochemical characterizations were utilized to assess their analytical performance. The synergistic effects significantly enhance the modified electrode’s preference by increasing sensitivity, lowering the limit of detection (0.016 μM), and providing a wider linear response (0.4–105 μM) for MTX detection. Furthermore, this proposed sensor toward MTX detection shows excellent selectivity with good reproducibility. Finally, the efficacy of WO3/h-BN/SPCE was evaluated by determining MTX concentrations in human blood serum, confirming its suitability for complex matrices.