NiO Nanoparticle-decorated graphene oxide nanosheets modified glassy carbon electrode for sensitive electrochemical detection of pethidine

Abstract

Pethidine (PTD), a synthetic opioid prescribed frequently as a painkiller, was included in the WADA list of prohibited substances in sports. The purpose of this study is to investigate the electrochemical determination of PTD using a modified glassy carbon electrode decorated with NiO nanoparticles and decorated graphene oxide nanosheets (NiO-GO/GCE). NiO-GO nanocomposite was created using a straightforward chemical reduction technique. SEM, TEM, and XRD analysis of the structure and morphology pointed to the NiO-GO nanocomposite's effective production. Results showed that NiO-GO/GCE responded to PTD determination in a sensitive, focused, and stable manner with a relatively low detection limit value (3.8 ng/mL) and a wide linear range (0–500 μg/mL) compared to other PTD sensors. Results on the appropriateness and validation of the NiO-GO/GCE for determining PTD content in clinical and human fluid samples illustrated good recoveries between 90.00 % and 99.66 % with a relative standard deviation less than 5.41 %, which were acceptable and corroborated the appropriateness and validation of the NiO-GO/GCE results for PTD sensor in urine samples from healthy athlete volunteers.