New approach on sensitive analysis of pimavanserin, levodopa and entacapone based on synergistic effect of graphene nanoplatelets and graphitized carbon nanotubes in functionalized polymer matrix

Abstract

The combination of graphene nanoplatelets and graphitized multi-walled carbon nanotubes with cationic exchange functionalized polymer has been used to develop a new and easily prepared electrochemical sensor for analysis of pimavanserin (PMV), a novel antypsihotic and the first drug approved for the treatment of psychosis in Parkinson's disease. Due to synergistic coupling of used materials, the obtained nanocomposite has excellent properties such as accelerating electron transfer in drug oxidation observed at 1.07 V, the high surface area and strong adsorption performance. In addition, this efficient sensing platform enables concurrently monitoring of well-defined separated peaks at 0.37 and 0.54 corresponding to the oxidation of levodopa (LPD) and entacapone (ENT). Using designed nanosensor, the first analytical method was developed for simultaneous determination of these three antiparkinsonics drugs. The robust and simple sensing devices shows linear responses in the ranges 1.0 × 10−7 – 9.0 × 10−6 M, 5.0 × 10−7 – 4.0 × 10−5 M and 5.0 × 10−7 – 1.0 × 10−5 M as well as strongly improved sensitivity 14.65, 6.37 and 9.11 μA μM − 1 for PMV, LPD and ENT, respectively. The results of the analysis of human serum samples reveal that developed nanosensor is a promising candidate for fast and low-cost application in clinical research.