Differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetric determination of nanomolar levels of atorvastatin calcium in pharmaceutical and biological samples using a vertically aligned carbon nanotube/graphene oxide electrode

Analyst. 2014 Jun 7;139(11):2832-41. doi: 10.1039/c4an00111g.

Abstract

A novel vertically aligned carbon nanotube/graphene oxide (VACNT-GO) electrode is proposed, and its ability to determine atorvastatin calcium (ATOR) in pharmaceutical and biological samples by differential pulse adsorptive stripping voltammetry (DPAdSV) is evaluated. VACNT films were prepared on a Ti substrate by a microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition method and then treated with oxygen plasma to produce the VACNT-GO electrode. The oxygen plasma treatment exfoliates the carbon nanotube tips exposing graphene foils and inserting oxygen functional groups, these effects improved the VACNT wettability (super-hydrophobic) which is crucial for its electrochemical application. The electrochemical behaviour of ATOR on the VACNT-GO electrode was studied by cyclic voltammetry, which showed that it underwent an irreversible oxidation process at a potential of +1.08 V in pHcond 2.0 (0.2 mol L(-1) buffer phosphate solution). By applying DPAdSV under optimized experimental conditions the analytical curve was found to be linear in the ATOR concentration range of 90 to 3.81 × 10(3) nmol L(-1) with a limit of detection of 9.4 nmol L(-1). The proposed DPAdSV method was successfully applied in the determination of ATOR in pharmaceutical and biological samples, and the results were in close agreement with those obtained by a comparative spectrophotometric method at a confidence level of 95%.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adsorption
  • Atorvastatin
  • Electrodes*
  • Graphite / chemistry*
  • Heptanoic Acids / analysis*
  • Hydrogen-Ion Concentration
  • Kinetics
  • Limit of Detection
  • Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
  • Nanotubes, Carbon*
  • Oxides / chemistry
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations / chemistry
  • Pyrroles / analysis*

Substances

  • Heptanoic Acids
  • Nanotubes, Carbon
  • Oxides
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Pyrroles
  • Graphite
  • Atorvastatin