Emergency determination of acetaminophen

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Clinical Chemistry

Background:

• Acetaminophen is a widely used analgesic and antipyretic.
• Accurate quantification of acetaminophen is crucial for therapeutic drug monitoring and overdose detection.
• Existing analytical methods may require specialized equipment or complex procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a sensitive and specific colorimetric micromethod for acetaminophen determination.
• To provide a cost-effective and accessible alternative for acetaminophen quantification.
• To validate the method against established liquid-chromatographic techniques.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a pH 11.0 carbonate buffer to facilitate the reaction between acetaminophen and Folin-Ciocalteau reagent.
• Employed a simple solvent extraction technique to enhance the formation of a stable indophenol dye.
• Performed the reaction at room temperature for operational simplicity.

Main Results:

• The developed micromethod demonstrated high sensitivity and specificity for acetaminophen.
• A stable indophenol dye was formed, enabling colorimetric detection.
• Results showed good correlation with established liquid-chromatographic procedures.
• Day-to-day precision was found to be less than 8%.

Conclusions:

• The described colorimetric micromethod is a sensitive, specific, and precise technique for acetaminophen quantification.
• This method offers a viable alternative to more complex analytical procedures.
• The simplicity and accessibility of the method make it suitable for various laboratory settings.