Abstract
Acetaminophen (AcP) commonly known as paracetamol is the most extensively used non-prescribed medication for the treatment of fever and different kinds of pain. Due to the wide range of use, the determination of AcP contents in commercial tablets, residual AcP present in human blood serum, and the presence of AcP in the environment from the unavoidable leakage during the industrial production becomes crucial. Therefore, we proposed an AcP sensor utilizing a novel Mn2O3-embedded mesoporous silicon (Mn2O3@PSi) nanocomposite fabricated glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Modern characterization techniques including FESEM, TEM, EDXS, XRD, XPS, and FTIR spectroscopy were employed to characterize the fabricated Mn2O3@PSi nanocomposite. XRD and XPS analysis confirmed the fruitful development of nanocomposite consisting of PSi, and Mn2O3. TEM images revealed that Mn2O3 nanoparticles were randomly distributed onto the PSi matrix. In the electrochemical investigations via the most reliable amperometric technique, the Mn2O3@PSi/GCE sensor showed excellent sensitivity (0.7948 mu A mu M 1cm(-2)), a wide LDR (0.3-138.7 mu M), and a very low detection limit (LOD similar to 0.033 mu M). The newly developed AcP sensor was further used to check the potential chemical interference using several closely related chemicals, presenting an extreme selectivity towards the AcP detection. The Mn2O3@PSi/GCE sensor electrode was also employed to determine the AcP in commercial paracetamol tablets and showed similar to 100% quantitative recovery. During the AcP determination, the Mn2O3@PSi/GCE sensor also displayed excellent reproducibility, repeatability, and stability. It is anticipated that this Mn2O3@PSi/GCE assembly will emerge as an efficient route in developing an effective AcP sensor.