Novel Tapentadol Screen-Printed Carbon Sensor Integrated Copper Oxide Nanostructure

The present study described the fabrication and electroanalytical performance of planar screen-printed disposable sensors based on copper oxide nanoparticles (CuONPs/SPEs) for the voltammetric determination of tapentadol (TAP) in its marketed pharmaceutical products and biological fluids. CuONPs exhibited electrochemical activity against the electrooxidation of TAP with an anodic peak at 0.84 V in the BR buffer at pH 5. The electroanalytical investigations and molecular orbital calculations pointed out the oxidation of the tertiary amine group within the TAP moiety with the transfer of two electrons and protons during the oxidation of the TAP molecule at the CuONPs/SPEs surface. Linear calibration graphs were constructed covering the TAP concentration ranging from 0.83 to 738 ng mL^-1 with a limit of detection (LOD) value up to 0.24 ng mL^-1. The disposable printed sensor based on CuONPs offered high measurement and fabrication reproducibility with a prolonged lifetime of 6 months. Improved performance toward TAP was recorded without noticeable interference from degradation products, additives, excipients, uric acid, and ascorbic acid. Moreover, tapentadol and paracetamol (PC) can be simultaneously quantified. The CuONPs/SPEs were applied for monitoring TAP residues and in vitro dissolution studies of TAP in commercial pharmaceutical formulations.