Copper nanoparticles incorporating a cationic surfactant-graphene modified carbon paste electrode for the simultaneous determination of gatifloxacin and pefloxacin

An original copper nanoparticle incorporating a cationic surfactant cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB)-graphene film had been successfully developed for the simultaneous determination of gatifloxacin and perflocacin with electrochemical method. The surface morphology of the nanocomposites was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). The synergistic effect of copper nanoparticles, graphene and CTAB surfactants increased the active site and enhanced the electrocatalytic ability of the modified carbon paste electrode. The modified electrode exhibited a good electrochemical behavior followed by well-separated oxidation peaks of gatifloxacin and perflocacin, the oxidation peak currents for gatifloxacin and perflocacin were found to vary linearly with their concentrations in the range of 0.02–40 μM and 0.04–20 μM with detection limits of 0.0021 μM and 0.0025 μM respectively using differential pulse stripping voltammetry (DPSV) method. The sensors have been applied to detect the residual of pefloxacin and gatifloxacin in the shrimp and animals serum with the satisfactory results, demonstrating that the film is one of the promising catalysts for electrocatalysis.