Sensitive detection of acetaminophen based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles-coated poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)-functionalized graphene nanocomposite film

An electrochemical sensor based on Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs)-coated poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA)-functionalized graphene (Fe3O4-PDDA-G) nanocomposite was fabricated for sensitive detection of acetaminophen. The nanocomposite was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM). The electrochemical behaviors of acetaminophen on Fe3O4-PDDA-G composite film modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The experimental results indicated that the incorporation of Fe3O4 NPs with PDDA-G greatly enhanced the electrochemical response of acetaminophen. This fabricated sensor displayed excellent analytical performance for acetaminophen detection over a range from 0.1 to 100 mu mol L-1 with a detection limit of 3.7 x 10(-8) mol L-1 (S/N = 3). The redox peaks of acetaminophen, dopamine (DA) and ascorbic acid (AA) can be well separated on the Fe3O4-PDDA-G/GCE. Moreover, the proposed electrochemical sensor also exhibited good reproducibility and stability, and has been used to detect acetaminophen in tablets with satisfactory results. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.