Electrocatalytic detection of Acetaminophen by sodium ferrite

Abstract

Acetaminophen (APN) is a safer alternative to opioids and is recognized for its analgesic and antipyretic properties. Prolonged usage and overdose of APN cause severe health problems for humans. Hence, its monitoring in the human body, pharmaceutical preparations and consumption sources is important. Thus, the current study was designed to synthesize the sodium ferrite nanoparticles (Na2Fe4O7-NPs) based on the Tamarindus indica fruit extract for selective trace electrochemical detection of APN. The Na2Fe4O7-NPs were characterized by advanced analytical techniques such as x-ray diffraction (XRD), fourier transform infrared (FTIR), UV–visible, atomic force microscopy (AFM), zeta potential, zeta sizer, energy dispersive x-ray (EDX) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) which displayed that the Na2Fe4O7-NPs possess hexagonal structure, a narrow band gap (1.475 eV), corresponding to their excellent electronic capability, nanosize of particles, rough surface and highly stable nature for electrochemical analysis. Na2Fe4O7-NPs were deposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) to manufacture an electrochemical sensor (Na2Fe4O7-NPs/GCE) and characterized its surface behaviour by cyclic voltammetry. Na2Fe4O7-NPs/GCE voltammetric sensor showed its selective sensing of APN in a wide dynamic range (1.0 × 10-8 to 4.5 × 10-4 M) with a detection limit of 2.72 10-9 M. Further, the developed method showed excellent stability in addition to reproducibility for the sensing of APN (% RSD 90 %).

Keywords

• Electrochemical analysis, sodium ferrite nanoparticles
• Differential pulse voltammetry
• Glassy carbon electrode
• Acetaminophen