Sensing of L-methionine in biological samples through fully 3D-printed electrodes

Abstract The variation in biomarkers levels, such as L-methionine, can be an indicator of health problems or diseases, such as metabolism, neuropsychiatric disorders, or some virus infections. Thus, the development of accurate sensors, with low-cost and rapid response has been gaining increasing importance and attractiveness for the early diagnosis of diseases. In this regard, we have proposed a method for L-methionine electrochemical detection using a low-cost and simple arrangement of 3D-printed electrodes (working, reference, and auxiliary electrodes) based on polylactic acid/graphene filament (PLA-G), in which all electrodes were printed. The working electrode was chemically and electrochemically treated, showing a high electroactive area, with graphene edge plans exposure and better electron transfer when compared to the untreated electrode. An excellent analytical performance was obtained with a sensitivity of 0.176 μAL μmol‒1, a linear dynamic range of 5.0–3000 μmol L‒1 and limit of detection of 1.39 μmol L‒1. The proposed device was successfully applied for L-methionine detection in spiked serum samples, showing satisfactory recovery values. This indicates the potentiality of the proposed arrangement of electrodes for the L-methionine detection in biological samples at different concentration levels.