Electrochemical Determination of Tricyclic Antidepressants: Mechanisms, Sensor Technologies, and Analytical Trends

Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) constitute an important class of psychotropic drugs widely prescribed for major depressive and anxiety disorders. Owing to their narrow therapeutic range and significant toxicity at elevated plasma concentrations, the precise quantification of TCAs in pharmaceutical formulations and biological fluids is essential for therapeutic drug monitoring. Spanning the period from the first electrochemical reports in 1984 to the most recent developments in 2025, this review provides a comprehensive overview of the electrochemical behavior of TCAs, emphasizing structure–reactivity relationships, oxidation mechanisms, and the evolution of electrode materials used for their voltammetric detection. Particular attention is given to advances in noble-metal, carbon-based, polymer-modified, nanocomposite, molecularly imprinted, and biofunctionalized electrodes, as well as emerging hybrid biosensing and microextraction-voltammetry platforms. The review further examines analytical performance relative to conventional techniques and highlights applications in pharmaceutical and biological matrices. Additionally, miniaturization, biocompatibility integration, sustainable sensor design, and machine learning-enhanced voltammetric data analysis have been explored to establish a roadmap for the future clinical translation of the TCA's electrochemical detection approach.