Phytoextract based synthesis of TiO2.Al2O3 nanocomposites for efficient electrocatalytic detection of acetaminophen from environmental and pharmaceutical samples

Acetaminophen (AMP) is a widely used pharmaceutical active substance known for its analgesic and antipyretic properties. This study presents a novel approach to electrochemically detect AMP using a newly developed titanium oxide-aluminum oxide nanocomposites modified gold electrode (TiO2.Al2O3-NC/AuE). The TiO2.Al2O3-NC/AuE was fabricated, followed by a two-step process, which included the phytoextract based synthesis of TiO2.Al2O3-NC through a co-precipitation method using fagonia plant extract followed by the fabrication of TiO2.Al2O3-NC/Au electrode. Fagonia plant extract contains contain anthocyanins, alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, and phenolic acids, as capping and reducing agents. So, phytoextract based synthesis of nanoparticles using fagonia plant extracts is an environment friendly and energy-efficient process that takes place under mild conditions. The TiO2.Al2O3-NC exhibited a cubic crystalline phase with a porous and rough surface, while its particle size was less than 40 nm and had an average zeta potential value of 7.23 mV. The TiO2.Al2O3-NC/AuE was applied for the electrochemical detection of AMP using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The results demonstrated exceptional selectivity and accuracy of the proposed electrode for detecting AMP up to a remarkably low detection limit (0.017 μM). The TiO2.Al2O3-NC/AuE-based developed electrochemical method was successfully applied for detecting AMP from water and pharmaceutical samples with excellent recoveries (>90 %).