Electropolymerization of 4-aminobenzoic acid containing nano-Au deposited on carbon paste electrode for determination of acetaminophen

The conducting polymer films have been widely applied in the field of electrochemistry owing to their good stability, permselectivity, unique physical and chemical properties. A novel nano-Au/poly (4-aminobenzoic acid) (PABA) film modified carbon paste electrode was fabricated for sensitive detection of acetaminophen in this paper. The PABA film and nano-Au/PABA film were characterized by scanning electron microscope. The nano-Au/PABA film exhibited obviously catalytic performance to the determination of acetaminophen with a high sensitivity and a wide linear range. Under optimum conditions (pH, the concentration of 4- aminobenzoic acid, electro-polymerization cycles), linearity between the oxidation peak current and the acetaminophen concentration was obtained in the range of 1.0 × 10–7 – 8.0 × 10–5 mol L-1 with a detection limit of 8.0 × 10–8 mol L-1 (S/N = 3). In addition, the nano-Au/PABA film modified electrode was successfully employed to determine the acetaminophen in commercial drugs, and this work has shed some doubt on the redox mechanism of acetaminophen at the sensor.