Potentiometric Determination of Salbutamol using Carbon Paste Electrode Assisted with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Salbutamol is a short-acting, selective beta2-adrenergic receptor agonist used in the treatment of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In this work a salbutamol selective nanocomposite sensor based on ion-pair as a sensing element, multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), graphite powder and paraffin oil is constructed. The optimized composition of 7% MWCNTs, 20% Ionophore, 20% paraffin oil and 53% graphite powder shows a Nernestian response of 29.1 +/- 0.4 in the range of 5x10(-6)-1x10(-2) mol L-1. Multi-walled carbon nanotubes are used because of electrical conductivity and remarkable mechanical strength. The proposed carbon paste electrode can be used over the pH range of 3.5-10 and has a detection limit of 3.0x10(-6) mol L-1. This method is used to salbutamol recognition in pure solutions and pharmaceutical preparations with high accuracy and precision.