Effect of graphite and metallic impurities of C60 fullerene on determination of salbutamol in biological fluids

A new method for the determination of salbutamol has been developed using fullerene C60-modified glassy carbon electrode and validated using GC–MS. The presence of graphite and metallic impurities in C60 are found to diminish the peak. The oxidation of salbutamol was observed in a single well-defined, diffusion-controlled process using square wave voltammetry. The peak potential of oxidation peak was dependent on pH and determination was carried out at physiological pH 7.4. The peak current versus concentration plot was linear in the range 100–2000 ng/ml of salbutamol. The detection limit was found to be 40 ng/ml. The determination of salbutamol was carried out in human blood and urine samples and common interferents such as dopamine, ascorbic acid and uric acid do not interfere. The method proved to be specific, rapid, and accurate and can be easily applied for detecting cases of doping. A cross-validation of the observed results with GC–MS indicated a good agreement.