Paracetamol is an analgesic and antipyretic medication, being one of the most prescribed for the relief of fever and pain in general. However, when administered in overdoses, it is an aggressive drug to the human body, and can cause severe toxicity and even lead to death. Therefore, it is essential to monitor this compound to avoid serious toxicological effects. 3D printing is a technique that allows the construction of prototypes and parts, innovating industrial manufacturing processes in various areas, such as healthcare and medicine, in addition to being used in research lines in laboratories around the world. In the Chemistry area, 3D printing can be used in several features, including the production of electrochemical sensors. Therefore, this work introduces a novel arrangement of a compact 3D-printed electrochemical device. The sensor was made using carbon black/PLA filament for the electrodes; non-conductive PLA filament for the base which the electrodes were inserted; and a bottle cap for the electrochemical cell, based on the principle of recycling. The proposed electrodes were characterized by SEM, EIS, FTIR, and XRD techniques. Also, the devices were applied in electrochemical measurements such as cyclic and differential pulse voltammetry. Moreover, the proposed sensor was capable of determining paracetamol in synthetic biological fluids samples, presenting a linear range from 1.00 to 200 μmol L<sup>−1</sup> with a limit of detection of 0.37 μmol L<sup>–1</sup>. To determine the efficiency of the proposed system, synthetic biological fluids (e.g., sweat, saliva, and urine) have been prepared, fortified with known amounts of paracetamol, for subsequent detection of this drug.

3D-printed carbon black/PLA miniaturized electrochemical sensor: A novel architecture for monitoring of paracetamol in biological fluids

ACS Spring 2022

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.