Green potentiometric electrode for determination of salbutamol in biological samples

Abstract

Clinical drug analyses and identification of pharmaceuticals in biological samples are highly crucial for thera- peutic drug monitoring, pharmacokinetic studies, and screening of illicit drugs. Various analytical tools, such as potentiometric electrodes, are used to conduct these investigations. These potentiometric electrodes are superior to other techniques in terms of greenness and cost efficacy, and thus present a good alternative for researchers. In this study, we develop an advanced electrode for the in-situ monitoring of salbutamol in plasma, this electrode was synthesized using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) as hydrophobic conductive substance and copper oxide nanoparticle (CuO NP) as a surface modifier, the developed electrode was compared to traditional liquid contact electrode as well as solid contact electrode and proved its superiority. The use of MWCNT improved the stability of the electrode via preventing the formation of this water layer and the CuO NP improved the sensitivity due to its high surface area and rich electronic properties. CuO NP modified electrode was used for the determination of salbutamol with a Nernstian slope of 57.4 over a linearity range of range 1.0 × 10− 7 - 1.0 × 10− 2 M, and a detection limit of 4.0 × 10− 7 M. The proposed electrode was effectively applied for the deter- mination of the cited drug in rat plasma without interference and compared with chromatographic reported method. The proposed method is economic as it has a low sample analysis cost, time saving and needs fewer manipulation steps and a simple convenient device. It also proved to be a greener method when compared with chromatographic methods using an eco-scale metric system.