Carbon Nanotubes Determine Morphine, Diclofenac in Drug Samples | WPN World People News

Iranian researchers at Golestan University and Islamic Azad University in a joint research succeeded in the production of electrodes in order to concurrently determine the morphine and diclofenac in drug and biological samples.

The production of the electrode is very simple, and surface renewal can be done easily in this electrode.

Nowadays, morphine is used in order to reduce pain in the patients, especially after surgeries. In the other hand, diclofenac acetate is an effective and relatively harmless non-steroid medicine. The use of non-steroid medicine such as diclofenac decreases the consumption of morphine in adults after the surgery. Regular increase in the dose of diclofenac results in the decrease of the morphine consumption. Therefore, the simultaneous determination of these two drugs is highly important.

The researchers produced new electrodes consisting of carbon nanotubes modified with vinyl ferrocene, and they tested their performance in the electrochemical determination of morphine in chemical solutions.

According to the results of the research, noticeable improvement in the current peak was observed as well as reduction in the potential peak due to very well electro-catalytic activity of the synthesized electrode in the reduction of morphine. The amount of morphine and diclofenac in a compound was measured independently with a potential difference of about 300 mV by using square wave voltammetry (SWV) method. Current peaks of morphine and diclofenac increased linearly with the increase in their concentration. The proposed voltammetric sensor showed acceptable performance in the determination of morphine and diclofenac in real samples.

Source: Nanotechnology Now