Bimetallic MOF-based electrochemical sensor for determination of paracetamol in spiked human plasma

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with their exceptional properties have the potential to revolutionize the field of electrochemistry and pave the way for new and exciting applications. MOFs is an excellent choice as an active electrocatalyst component in the fabrication of electrochemical sensors. Here, bimetallic NiCo-MOFs, monometallic Ni-MOFs, and Co-MOFs were fabricated to modify the carbon paste electrode. Moreover, the ratio between Co and Ni within the bimetallic MOFs was optimized. Our aim in this work is to synthesize different compositions from bimetallic MOFs and systematically compare their catalytic activity with mono-metallic MOFs on paracetamol. The structure and properties of the 2D NiCo-MOFs were characterized by scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, and electrochemical method. Bimetallic Ni_0.75Co_0.25-MOFs modified carbon paste sensor displayed the optimum sensing performance for the electrochemical detection of paracetamol. A linear response over the range 6.00 × 10^- 7 to 1.00 × 10^- 4 M with a detection limit of 2.10 × 10^- 8 M was obtained. The proposed method was applied to detect paracetamol in spiked human plasma and to determine paracetamol in the presence of its major toxic impurity, p-aminophenol. These findings suggest the considerable potential use of the newly developed sensor as a point-of-care tool for detecting paracetamol and p-aminophenol in the future.