Electrochemical analysis of acetaminophen using a boron-doped diamond thin film electrode applied to flow injection system.

The electrochemistry of acetaminophen in phosphate buffer solution (pH 8) was studied at a boron-doped diamond (BDD) thin film electrode using cyclic voltammetry, hydrodynamic voltammetry, and flow injection with amperometric detection. Cyclic voltammetry was used to study the reaction as a function of concentration of analyte. Comparison experiments were performed using a polished glassy carbon (GC) electrode. Acetaminophen undergoes quasi-reversible reaction at both of these two electrodes. The BDD and GC electrodes provided well-resolved cyclic voltammograms but the voltammetric signal-to-background ratios obtained from the diamond electrode were higher than those obtained from the GC electrode. The diamond electrode provided a linear dynamic range from 0.1 to 8 mM and a detection of 10 microM (S/B approximately 3) for voltammetric measurement. The flow injection analysis results at the diamond electrode indicated a linear dynamic range from 0.5 to 50 microM and a detection limit of 10 nM (S/N approximately 4). Acetaminophen in syrup samples has also been investigated. The results obtained in the recovery study (24.68+/-0.26 mg/ml) were comparable to those labeled (24 mg/ml).