Background:
Ondansetron and paracetamol are often co-administrated to prevent and treat nausea and vomiting
caused by anaesthesia and to control of postoperative pain. In addition, ondansetron is used as the first-line antiemetic in
paracetamol overdose. Therefore, selective and sensitive method for their simultaneous analysis is of a great importance.
The electroanalytical methods are highly sensitive and offer many possibilities for new sensor platform design. However,
at present, no electroanalytical method for simultaneous determination of these drugs has been proposed.
Objective:
The aim of this study was to develop a novel nanosensor for selective monitoring of ondansetron and
paracetamol in pharmaceutical and biological samples without expensive and time-consuming pretreatments.
Methods:
The graphitized multi-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a cation exchange polymer matrix was selected,
among various surface functionalizations evaluated, to design novel sensor. Based on its excellent sensing performance,
the first electroanalytical method was developed for rapid concurrent determination of investigated drugs.
Results:
The scanning electron microscopy study showed interlinked nanoporous network structure and highly enlarged
active surface. The developed sensor facilitated electron transfer in the oxidation of both drugs and tremendously
enhanced the adsorption capacity for ondasetron, thus exhibiting significant increase of drug responses and sensitivity. To
obtain much sensitive response of investigated drugs the effect of pH values of supporting electrolyte, dispersed
nanomaterial amount, the cation exchange polymer concentration, drop-casting volume of nanocomposite suspension,
accumulation potential and deposition time on the peak current was evaluated. The developed electroanalytical method
was validated and practical utility of the proposed nanosensor was tested.
Conclusion:
The developed sensor is promising sensing platform with a fast response time for analysis of ondansetron
and paracetamol at very different concentration levels found in their fixed-dose combination and human serum sample
after recommended daily doses showing its potential usage in pharmaceutical quality control and clinical research.