Electro-Catalytic Behavior of Mg-Doped ZnO Nano-Flakes for Oxidation of Anti-Inflammatory Drug

A novel electrochemical carbon paste sensor containing 10% magnesium doped with zinc oxide nanoparticles was developed and used for electrochemical detection of an anti-inflammatory drug, mefenamic acid. The electrode materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction. Electrochemical and square wave voltammetric techniques were employed to find the lowest possible limit of detection to quantify mefenamic acid. Analytical experiments were performed over the pH range of 3.0-11.2. The pH 7.0 was found to be suitable for the analysis in real samples of human urine as well as a pharmaceutical dosage form. The present work was compared with our early findings based on barium zinc oxide modified glassy carbon electrode to understand the effect of variation of dopant. The results suggested that the dopant significantly affected the electrochemical determination of the analyte and better results were obtained with the modified electrode.