Electrocatalytic behavior of copper ferrite decorated carbon nanofibers towards oxidative determination of antipsychotic drug Pimozide

Abstract

Pimozide (PMZ) is highly potent antipsychotic drug used worldwide against Tourette syndrome (TS) and schizophrenia. However, it has several chronic side effects on human body when consumed in excess. In this work, a carbon nanofiber/copper ferrite nanoparticles composite modified carbon paste electrode (CNF-CuFe2O4/CPE) based electrochemical sensor was developed to determine PMZ. The CNF-CuFe2O4 nanocomposite synthesized by a simple yet facile hydrothermal method. The formation and surface characteristics of nanocomposite were studied by using X-ray diffraction and electron microscopic techniques. When employed as a voltammetric sensor, the CNF-CuFe2O4/CPE showed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards electro-oxidation of PMZ in B.R. buffer solution of pH 2.0 as a supporting electrolyte. The oxidation peak current of PMZ was found to have a linear relationship with its concentration in the range of 9 × 10−9 to 5 × 10−4 M. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were calculated to be 2.3 × 10−10 M and 7.69 × 10−10 M using differential pulse voltammetric method. The practical applicability of constructed CNF-CuFe2O4/CPE sensor was examined in pharmaceutical formulations, human blood serum and urine samples for selective and precise analysis of PMZ. The results obtained demonstrate that the electrochemical response of PMZ is excellent on the surface of CNF-CuFe2O4/CPE which indicates that it holds a high efficiency as a voltammetric sensor for the trace analysis of PMZ.