Synergistic effect of carbon nanotubes, copper and silver nanoparticles as an efficient electrochemical sensor for the trace recognition of amlodipine besylate drug

Binder-free and efficient voltammetric sensor based on Zn-Ca2CuO3 nanoparticles for simultaneous determination of amlodipine, acetaminophen, and ascorbic acid in hypertension patients

Amlodipine (AM) is a long active calcium channel blocker used to relax blood vessels by preventing calcium ion transport into the vascular walls and its supporting molecules acetaminophen (AP) and ascorbic acid (AA) are recommended for hypertension control and prevention. Considering their therapeutic importance and potential side effects due to over dosage, we have fabricated a sensor for individual and simultaneous determination of AA, AP, and AM in pharmaceuticals and human urine using novel Zn-doped Ca2CuO3 nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Optimally doped Ca2CuO3 (2.5 wt% Zn at Cu site) enhanced the detection of target molecules over much wider concentration ranges of 50 to 3130 µM for AA, 0.25 to 417 µM for AP, and 0.8 to 354 µM for AM with the corresponding lowest detection limits of 14 µM, 0.05 µM, and 0.07 µM, respectively. Furthermore, the Zn-Ca2CuO3/GCE exhibited excellent selectivity and high sensitivity even in the presence of several potential interfering agents. The usefulness of the developed electrode was tested using an amlodipine besylate tablet and urine samples of seven hypertension patients under medication. The results confirmed the presence of a significant amount of AP and AM in six patients' urine samples indicating that the personalized medication is essential and the quantum of medication need to be fixed by knowing the excess medicines excreted through urine. Thus, the Zn-Ca2CuO3/GCE with a high recovery percentage and good sensitivity shall be useful in the pharmaceutical and biomedical sectors.

Nanosensors in the detection of antihypertension drugs, a golden step for medication adherence monitoring

Hypertension is associated with structural and functional changes in blood vessels with increased arteriosclerosis, vascular inflammation, and endothelial dysfunction. Decreased adherence (compliance) to antihypertensive medications contributes significantly to morbidity and mortality in hypertensive patients. Antihypertensive drugs (AHTDs) and lifestyle changes are the main cornerstones for treating hypertension. Several approaches have been described in the literature for determining AHTDs based on different analytical techniques. Amongst biosensors are one of the most attractive tools due to their inherent advantages. Biosensors are used for the detection of wide range of biomarkers as well as different drugs in past two decades. The main focus of the present study is to review the latest biosensors developed for the detection of AHTDs. Readers of the present study will be able to familiarize themselves with biosensors as advanced and modern diagnostic tools while reviewing the most widely used AHTDs. In the present study, the routine methods are first reviewed and while examining their advantages and disadvantages, biosensors have been introduced as ideal alternative tools.

Recent Development of Nano-Carbon Material in Pharmaceutical Application: A Review

Carbon nanomaterials have attracted researchers in pharmaceutical applications due to their outstanding properties and flexible dimensional structures. Carbon nanomaterials (CNMs) have electrical properties, high thermal surface area, and high cellular internalization, making them suitable for drug and gene delivery, antioxidants, bioimaging, biosensing, and tissue engineering applications. There are various types of carbon nanomaterials including graphene, carbon nanotubes, fullerenes, nanodiamond, quantum dots and many more that have interesting applications in the future. The functionalization of the carbon nanomaterial surface could modify its chemical and physical properties, as well as improve drug loading capacity, biocompatibility, suppress immune response and have the ability to direct drug delivery to the targeted site. Carbon nanomaterials could also be fabricated into composites with proteins and drugs to reduce toxicity and increase effectiveness in the pharmaceutical field. Thus, carbon nanomaterials are very effective for applications in pharmaceutical or biomedical systems. This review will demonstrate the extraordinary properties of nanocarbon materials that can be used in pharmaceutical applications.

Recent Advances in Metal Nanocomposite-Based Electrochemical (Bio)Sensors for Pharmaceutical Analysis

Rising rates of drug abuse and pharmaceutical pollution throughout the world as a consequence of increased drug production and utilization pose a serious risk to public health and to environmental integrity. It is thus critical that reliable analytical approaches to detecting drugs and their metabolites in a range of sample matrices be developed. Recent advances in the design of nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors and biosensors have enabled promising new approaches to pharmaceutical analysis. In particular, the development of a range of novel metal nanocomposites with enhanced catalytic properties has provided a wealth of opportunities for the design of rapid and reliable platforms for the detection of specific pharmaceutical compounds. The present review provides a comprehensive overview of representative metal nanocomposites with synergistic properties and their recent (2017-2022) application in the context of electrochemical sensing as a means of detecting specific antibiotic, tuberculostatic, analgesic, antineoplastic, antipsychotic, and antihypertensive drugs. In discussing these applications, we further explore a variety of testing-related principles, fabrication approaches, characterization techniques, and parameters associated with the sensitivity and selectivity of these sensor platforms before surveying the future outlook regarding the fabrication of next-generation (bio)sensor platforms for use in pharmaceutical analysis.