Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples

Ana Alarcón-Vargas; Diego Bolaños-Méndez; Jocelyne Álvarez-Paguay; Lenys Fernández; Katherine Vaca-Escobar; Alexis Debut; Patricio J. Espinoza-Montero

doi:10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples

Ana Alarcón-Vargas
, Diego Bolaños-Méndez
, Jocelyne Álvarez-Paguay
, Lenys Fernández^*
, Katherine Vaca-Escobar
, Alexis Debut
, Patricio J. Espinoza-Montero^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The development of highly stable, selective, and cost-effective electrodes for detecting emerging contaminants in real water samples is a key focus in both health and environmental research. This study presents the fabrication and application of a carbon-fiber-based microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles (CFμE/Co) for the nanomolar quantification of paracetamol in drinking water, river water, and wastewater using differential pulse voltammetry. The developed CFμE/Co exhibited a linear range from 50.00 to 1000.0 nmol L ^-1with an R2 =0.9981, a limit of detection of 32.69 nmol L ^-1 (1000 times lower than the unmodified electrode), and a limit of quantification of 98.07 nmol L ^-1. Recovery tests in river and drinking water, fortified at two concentrations (150.0 and 250.0 nmol L ^-1), yielded recovery rates below 110%. Additionally, the acetaminophen concentration in wastewater from a nursing home was determined to be 931.83 nmol L ^-1. The CFμE/Co showed robust performance in real sample analysis, offering a simple and reproducible method for routine environmental monitoring and quality assessment of water.

Original language	English
Article number	116835
Journal	Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering
Volume	13
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835
State	Published - 6 May 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved.

Funding

The authors would like to thank Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador and Fondo Publcalo for the opportunity to conduct this research and the logistical assistance of the Grupo de Electroqumica Fundamental y Aplicada (@GEFA_PUCE). The authors would like to thank the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Ecuador for funding through project QINV0402-IINV529020100. The authors would like to thank Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador and Fondo Publícalo for the opportunity to conduct this research and the logistical assistance of the Grupo de Electroquímica Fundamental y Aplicada (@GEFA_PUCE) . The authors would like to thank the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador for funding through project QINV0402-IINV529020100 .

Funders	Funder number
Fondo Publcalo
Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador	QINV0402-IINV529020100

Keywords

Carbon-fiber microelectrode
Cobalt nanoparticles
Microsensor
Paracetamol

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

Cite this

Alarcón-Vargas, A., Bolaños-Méndez, D., Álvarez-Paguay, J., Fernández, L., Vaca-Escobar, K., Debut, A., & Espinoza-Montero, P. J. (2025). Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, 13(3), Article 116835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

@article{9f12c6bf1a1d48459f882b7ac388864d,

title = "Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples",

abstract = "The development of highly stable, selective, and cost-effective electrodes for detecting emerging contaminants in real water samples is a key focus in both health and environmental research. This study presents the fabrication and application of a carbon-fiber-based microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles (CFμE/Co) for the nanomolar quantification of paracetamol in drinking water, river water, and wastewater using differential pulse voltammetry. The developed CFμE/Co exhibited a linear range from 50.00 to 1000.0 nmol L -1with an R2 =0.9981, a limit of detection of 32.69 nmol L -1 (1000 times lower than the unmodified electrode), and a limit of quantification of 98.07 nmol L -1. Recovery tests in river and drinking water, fortified at two concentrations (150.0 and 250.0 nmol L -1), yielded recovery rates below 110\%. Additionally, the acetaminophen concentration in wastewater from a nursing home was determined to be 931.83 nmol L -1. The CFμE/Co showed robust performance in real sample analysis, offering a simple and reproducible method for routine environmental monitoring and quality assessment of water.",

keywords = "Carbon-fiber microelectrode, Cobalt nanoparticles, Microsensor, Paracetamol",

author = "Ana Alarc{\'o}n-Vargas and Diego Bola{\~n}os-M{\'e}ndez and Jocelyne {\'A}lvarez-Paguay and Lenys Fern{\'a}ndez and Katherine Vaca-Escobar and Alexis Debut and Espinoza-Montero, \{Patricio J.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Elsevier Ltd. All rights are reserved.",

year = "2025",

month = may,

day = "6",

doi = "10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835",

language = "English",

volume = "13",

journal = "Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering",

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Alarcón-Vargas, A, Bolaños-Méndez, D, Álvarez-Paguay, J, Fernández, L , Vaca-Escobar, K, Debut, A & Espinoza-Montero, PJ 2025, 'Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples', Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, vol. 13, no. 3, 116835. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples. / Alarcón-Vargas, Ana; Bolaños-Méndez, Diego; Álvarez-Paguay, Jocelyne et al.
In: Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Vol. 13, No. 3, 116835, 06.05.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Carbon-fiber microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles for the detection of paracetamol in real water samples

AU - Alarcón-Vargas, Ana

AU - Bolaños-Méndez, Diego

AU - Álvarez-Paguay, Jocelyne

AU - Fernández, Lenys

AU - Vaca-Escobar, Katherine

AU - Debut, Alexis

AU - Espinoza-Montero, Patricio J.

PY - 2025/5/6

Y1 - 2025/5/6

N2 - The development of highly stable, selective, and cost-effective electrodes for detecting emerging contaminants in real water samples is a key focus in both health and environmental research. This study presents the fabrication and application of a carbon-fiber-based microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles (CFμE/Co) for the nanomolar quantification of paracetamol in drinking water, river water, and wastewater using differential pulse voltammetry. The developed CFμE/Co exhibited a linear range from 50.00 to 1000.0 nmol L -1with an R2 =0.9981, a limit of detection of 32.69 nmol L -1 (1000 times lower than the unmodified electrode), and a limit of quantification of 98.07 nmol L -1. Recovery tests in river and drinking water, fortified at two concentrations (150.0 and 250.0 nmol L -1), yielded recovery rates below 110%. Additionally, the acetaminophen concentration in wastewater from a nursing home was determined to be 931.83 nmol L -1. The CFμE/Co showed robust performance in real sample analysis, offering a simple and reproducible method for routine environmental monitoring and quality assessment of water.

AB - The development of highly stable, selective, and cost-effective electrodes for detecting emerging contaminants in real water samples is a key focus in both health and environmental research. This study presents the fabrication and application of a carbon-fiber-based microelectrode modified with electrodeposited cobalt nanoparticles (CFμE/Co) for the nanomolar quantification of paracetamol in drinking water, river water, and wastewater using differential pulse voltammetry. The developed CFμE/Co exhibited a linear range from 50.00 to 1000.0 nmol L -1with an R2 =0.9981, a limit of detection of 32.69 nmol L -1 (1000 times lower than the unmodified electrode), and a limit of quantification of 98.07 nmol L -1. Recovery tests in river and drinking water, fortified at two concentrations (150.0 and 250.0 nmol L -1), yielded recovery rates below 110%. Additionally, the acetaminophen concentration in wastewater from a nursing home was determined to be 931.83 nmol L -1. The CFμE/Co showed robust performance in real sample analysis, offering a simple and reproducible method for routine environmental monitoring and quality assessment of water.

KW - Carbon-fiber microelectrode

KW - Cobalt nanoparticles

KW - Microsensor

KW - Paracetamol

U2 - 10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

DO - 10.1016/j.jece.2025.116835

M3 - Article

SN - 2213-3437

VL - 13

JO - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

JF - Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

IS - 3

M1 - 116835

ER -