Simultaneous determination of epinephrine, paracetamol, and folic acid using transition metal ion-exchanged polyaniline–zeolite organic–inorganic hybrid materials

• Transition metal ion-exchanged polyaniline–zeolite nanocomposites were synthesized.
• Polyaniline–zeolite based electrochemical sensor was developed.
• Sensor was used for the simultaneous determination of pharmaceutical drugs.
• Epinephrine, paracetamol, and folic acid were detected.
• Real application was demonstrated in the commercial pharmaceutical preparations.

Transition metal ion-exchanged polyaniline–zeolite (M2+-PANI-Nano-ZSM-5, where M2+ = Cu2+, Ni2+, Co2+, Fe2+, and Mn2+) organic-inorganic hybrid materials were synthesized and characterized by the complementary combination of X-ray diffraction, N2-adsorption, scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR and thermo gravimetric techniques. Electrochemical sensors based on M2+-PANI-Nano-ZSM-5 was developed for the simultaneous determination of epinephrine, paracetamol, and folic acid. Among the materials investigated in this study, Cu2+-PANI-Nano-ZSM-5 modified glassy carbon electrode exhibited the highest electro-catalytic activity with excellent stability, sensitivity, and selectivity. Under the optimum conditions, a wide linear range was obtained from 10 nM–600 μM for epinephrine, 15 nM–800 μM for paracetamol, and 13 nM–700 μM for folic acid. The detection limit was found to be 4, 8, and 5 nM for epinephrine, paracetamol, and folic acid, respectively. The analytical performance of the developed sensor was demonstrated in the determination of epinephrine, paracetamol, and folic acid in the commercial pharmaceutical preparations (epinephrine injection, paracetamol, and folic acid tablets) with satisfactory recovery. The proposed methodology provides promising application in drug analysis.

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