Anthraquinone/activated carbon electrochemical sensor and its application in acetaminophen analysis

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Acetaminophen (AC) possesses antipyretic and analgesic properties by inhibiting prostaglandin synthesis.
• Accurate quantification of acetaminophen is crucial for therapeutic monitoring and quality control.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor for acetaminophen detection.
• To explore the application of anthraquinone-doped carbon composites for electrode modification.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of anthraquinone (AQ)-doped carbon composite using a two-step microwave impregnation method.
• Modification of glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) with the AQ-carbon composite.
• Electrochemical determination of acetaminophen using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS).

Main Results:

• Successful modification of activated carbon with anthraquinone confirmed by spectroscopy (XRD, SEM, Raman, FT-IR).
• The developed 20%AQ-C/GCE sensor exhibited a linear response for acetaminophen from 0.1 μM to 700 μM (R² = 0.998).
• A low detection limit of 0.05 μM was achieved, with significantly reduced charge transfer resistance compared to bare GCE.

Conclusions:

• The AQ-carbon modified GCE sensor demonstrates high sensitivity, selectivity, stability, and reproducibility for acetaminophen detection.
• The sensor shows practical applicability for analyzing acetaminophen in real samples.
• This approach offers a promising method for the electrochemical determination of acetaminophen.