Voltammetric determination of acetaminophen in pharmaceutical preparations and human urine using glassy carbon paste electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide

A completely new direct voltammetric method has been developed for determination of acetaminophen (APAP), known as popular analgesic drug. The present electroanalytical method is based on anodic oxidation of APAP at the glassy carbon paste electrode modified with reduced graphene oxide (RGO). Key experimental conditions were studied, resulting in a set of optimal conditions: acetate buffer (pH 5.0) as working medium electrolyte, content of RGO, parameters of squarewave voltammetry including the potential step of 5 mV, potential amplitude of 50 mV, and frequency of 40 Hz. If peak area is used for evaluation, a linear range from 1.2 × 10 –6 to 2.2 × 10 –4 mol L −1 characterized by determination coefficient of 0.9971, limits of quantification and detection, 9.3 × 10 –7 mol L −1 and 3.1 × 10 –7 mol L −1 , respectively, will be obtained. Under validation, the precision was described by relative standard deviation of 2.9% for the model sample analysis. Finally, the developed voltammetric method was compared with a reference high-performance liquid chromatography method in the analysis of commercially available pharmaceutical preparation and human urine collected from five healthy volunteers. Graphical abstract