An amplified electrochemical sensor employing one-step synthesized nickel–copper–zinc ferrite/carboxymethyl cellulose/graphene oxide nanosheets composite for sensitive analysis of omeprazole

Abstract

In this work, a signal amplification strategy was designed by the fabrication of a highly sensitive and selective electrochemical sensor based on nickel–copper–zinc ferrite (Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄)/carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)/graphene oxide nanosheets (GONs) composite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) for determination of omeprazole (OMP). The one-step synthesized Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄/CMC/GONs nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques. Then, the Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄/CMC/GONs/GCE was applied to study the electrochemical behavior of the OMP. Electrochemical data show that the Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄/CMC/GONs/GCE exhibits superior electrocatalytic performance on the oxidation of OMP compared with bare GCE, GONs/GCE, CMC/GONs/GCE and MFe₂O₄/GCE (M = Cu, Ni and Zn including single, double and triple of metals) which can be attributed to the synergistic effects of the nanocomposite components, outstanding electrical properties of Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄ and high conductivity of CMC/GONs as well as the further electron transport action of the nanocomposite. Under optimal conditions, the Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄/CMC/GONs/GCE offers a high performance toward the electrodetermination of OMP with the wide linear-range responses (0.24–5 and 5–75 μM), lower detection limit (0.22 ± 0.05 μM), high sensitivity (1.1543 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²), long-term signal stability and reproducibility (RSD = 2.54%). It should be noted that the Ni_0.4Cu_0.2Zn_0.4Fe₂O₄/CMC/GONs/GCE sensor could also be used for determination of OMP in drug and biological samples, indicating its feasibility for real analysis.