Amperometric nanosensor based on carbon nanotubes paste electrode modified with aminophenol for determination of trace amounts of penicillamine in the presence of uric acid

Penicillamine is a chelator class of pharmaceutical. It is a metabolite of penicillin, although it has no antibiotic properties. To treat rheumatoid arthritis, penicillamine is used as a form of immunosuppression. It works by inhibiting macrophage function, reducing numbers of T-lymphocytes, preventing collagen from cross-linking, and decreasing rheumatoid factor. It is used as a chelating agent. For example in cystinuria, a hereditary disorder featuring formation of cystine stones, penicillamine binds with cysteine to yield a mixed disulfide which is more soluble than cystine. Penicillamine has been used to treat mercury poisoning [1]. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) continue to receive considerable attention in electrochemistry. Recently, carbon nanotubes have been introduced as electrocatalysts and CNTs modified electrodes have been reported to give super-performance in the study of a number of biological species [2,3].