Fabrication of polypyrrole/Au nanoflowers modified gold electrode for highly sensitive sensing of paracetamol in pharmaceutical formulation

Abstract

Paracetamol (PC) is one of the most common non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, pain-killer, and antipyretic drugs. Thus, the development of a cheap, access, and accurate analytical technique is necessary for monitoring the purity of the PC in their pharmaceutical formulations. Herein, a layer of polypyrrole (PPy) was used to modify gold nanoflowers/gold electrodes and then applied to determine PC in the presence of 4-aminophenol. The relationship between the PC concentrations (within a range from 100 nmol L − 1 to 25 µmol L − 1) and their corresponding current peaks demonstrated a linear curve with a limit of detection (LOD) as low as 133 nmol L − 1. The synthesized PPy/Au nanoflowers nanocomposite modified Au electrode was successfully used to monitor the purity of the Novadol tablets. Then the electrochemical results were validated by the gas chromatography technique. Hence, the developed electrode displays a significant PC-sensing capability even at trace concentrations, maintaining functionality for reuse without substantial deterioration in its original performance.

Keywords

• Paracetamol
• 4-aminophenol
• Square wave voltammetry
• Polypyrrole
• Au nanoflowers/Au electrode