Electrochemical sensitive detection of a β-blocker drug using a nanostructured electrode based on a ferrite/graphene oxide nanocomposite

The present work reports designing of a new nanostructured sensor for analysis of atenolol as a β-blocker drug. At first, ferrite/graphene xide nanocomposite (FGON) is synthesized using ultrasonic process. Then, the structure and morphology of the samples are studied using different techniques such as Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). After confirmation of nanosized structure of the samples, they use an electrochemical sensor for determination of atenolol. The sensor is fabricated as FGON modified carbon paste electrode (FGON/CPE). The modification of the electrode shows a significant enhancement of the oxidation current of atenolol than the unmodified electrode. The electrochemical determinations at the surface of the nanostructured modified electrode present a wide dynamic linear range of 0.10-250.0 μM with a detection limit of 9.4 nM for atenolol. Finally, for investigation the applicability of the proposed electrochemical sensor, detection of the atenolol is performed in real complicated samples and acceptable recoveries are obtained.