In the present work, a noncovalent and eco-friendly approach was proposed to prepare a carbon-black/β-cyclodextrin (CB/β-CD) nanocomposite. CB/β-CD-nanocomposite-modified screen-printed carbon electrodes were applied for the simultaneous determination of the anticancer drug flutamide (Flut) and the environmental pollutant 4-nitrophenol (4-NP). The electrochemical performance of the proposed sensor relied on the conductivity of CB, the different binding strengths of the guests (Flut and 4-NP) to the host (β-CD), and the different reduction potentials of the nitroaromatic compounds. Fascinatingly, the proposed sensor exhibited an excellent electrochemical performance with high sensitivity, selectivity, and reproducibility. The obtained wide linear ranges were 0.05-158.3 and 0.125-225.8 μM for Flut and 4-NP. The low detection limits of 0.016 and 0.040 μM with the higher sensitivities of 5.476 and 9.168 μA μM cm were achieved for the determination of Flut and 4-NP, respectively. The practical feasibility of the proposed sensor was studied in tap-water and human-serum samples.

The large-scale synthesis of high-quality quantum dots (QDs) for commercial applications, such as lighting, displays, and biomedical devices, is an urgent necessity. Batch reactor systems present a number of problems, such as improper mixing, heating, and reagent addition. Hence, controlling the growth and size of nanocrystals is difficult in this type of system. A number of microfluidic techniques have been developed to enable semiconductor colloidal QD synthesis. The reaction parameters of these techniques are controlled precisely during synthesis. Over the last 16 years, many advancements have been introduced to achieve products similar to those obtained from batch systems. Multiphase flow reactors reduce reactor fouling by using immiscible carrier liquids, which decrease the contact between reagents and the channel wall. Online monitoring of the nanocrystal growth through absorbance and fluorescence spectrometry provides detailed information on the reaction parameters. Chip-based reactors with subchannels decrease backflow and control the addition of reagents. In this review, we discuss all aspects and developments in microfluidic systems for the production and applications of QDs.

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