Novel nanostructured Pt/CeO₂@Cu₂O carbon-based electrode to magnify the electrochemical detection of the neurotransmitter dopamine and analgesic paracetamol

Abstract

The fabrication of nanocomposites is essential because a multiphase interface delivers highly sensitive and selective method for the individual and simultaneous electrochemical determination of drugs. Herein, we introduce an electrochemical sensor using Pt/CeO₂@Cu₂O nanocomposites for simultaneous detection of dopamine (DA) and paracetamol (PA), which were synthesized using a low temperature clean aqueous phase additives-free method with Cu₂O as sacrificial template. We investigated the electrochemical behavior of the various modified electrodes by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), in which Pt/CeO₂@Cu₂O proved to be highly sensitive and selective toward individual and simultaneous detection of DA and PA. Sensitive electrooxidation peak potential at 160 mV and 380 mV from the DPV technique was observed for DA and PA, respectively. Both DA and PA exhibit linear response over the range of 0.5 μM to 100 μM. The stability, reproducibility, and repeatability of the Pt/CeO₂@Cu₂O were also inspected. The lower detection limits of 0.079 μM and 0.091 μM were recorded for DA and PA, respectively. The practical applicability of the Pt/CeO₂@Cu₂O–carbon paste electrode (CPE) is toward the simultaneous detection of DA and PA in drugs, as well as in spiked human serum and urine samples.