Electrochemical determination of acetaminophen drug on sol-gel electrode modified with Fe3O4 nanoparticles

Acetaminophen (paracetamol, N-acetyl-p-aminophenol) is a well-known drug which has extensive applications in pharmaceutical industries. It is an antipyretic, non-steroidal anti- inflammatory drug. It is the preferred alternative to aspirin, particularly for patients who cannot tolerate aspirin .and its use is one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide .and analgesic compound that has high therapeutic value. It is also used as a precursor in penicillin, and as stabilizer for hydrogen peroxide, photographic chemical, etc. It is a suitable alternative when the patients are sensitive to aspirin. At the recommended dosage, there are no side effects. However, overdoses of acetaminophen cause liver and kidney damage and may lead to death. It is suspected that a metabolite of acetaminophen is the actual hepatotoxic agent. 1 Magnetic nanoparticles have been intensively studied due to the fact that they can be used in a wide range of application such as clinical diagnosis, mineral separation, magnetic storage devices, absorption of microwave radiation, magneto-optic materials, and microwave filters. Among magnetic nanoparticles, magnetite (Fe3O4) is a metallic mineral with the most powerful magnetism among transition metals such as nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and zinc (Zn). 2 Fe3O4 nanoparticles are easily oxidized and aggregated in aqueous system. In order to fulfil application requirements of Fe3O4, surface modification is needed. Surface modification by coating is one way to protect Fe3O4 from oxidation and reduce interparticle magnetic forces so improve the dispersibility of nanoparticles in solution and protect the Fe3O4 nanoparticles in a state of dissolution acid. Fe3O4 is easy to aggregate and has bad dispersion stability because of its magnetism. 3 In the present study, the sol-gel electrode modified by Fe3O4 was explored to detect acetaminophen. Cyclic voltammetry was applied to investigate preliminary experiments, optimization of effective parameters on electrode performance and studding kinetic parameters of modified electrode. By using hydrodynamic amperometry as sensitive method the calibration curve was plotted in the concentration range of 0.3 µM to 90 µm. The detection limit was calculated as 0.1 µm based on signal to noise ratio of 3. Lastly, the present method was applied to determine acetaminophen in phosphate buffer at PH~7 in serum samples samples which was taken from patients who was administrated acetaminophen tablet and satisfactory results were obtained with good accuracy.