Paracetamol (acetaminophen, N-acetyl-p-aminophenol, 4- acetamidophenol) is a broadly used minor analgesic. Though it has some cyclooxygenase inhibiting properties, this role is very weak in the peripheral tissues and it has practically no anti-inflammatory action. It is also stated that large doses show adverse effect on the kidneys and liver [1]. The structure of paracetamol was presented in Fig. 1. Fig. 1. The structure of paracetamol. Several chemiluminescence (CL) methods by using different CL reactions including luminol-Fe(CN)63- [2, 3], tris(2,2′- bipyridyl)ruthenium(II)-KMnO4 [1] and luminol-KMnO4 [4]. In general, CL methods show many benefits for determination of pharmaceutical including high sensitivity, cost effectiveness, simple sample preparation and instrumentation [1]. In this research work, it was found that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) can increase the intensity of the NaHCO3–H2O2 CL reaction. Moreover, it was found that paracetamol decreased the intensity of the Fe3O4 NPs–NaHCO3–H2O2 system. Based on theses results, a new, sensitive, simple CL method was developed for measurement of concentration of paracetamol in pharmaceutical formulations. The linear dynamic range of the CL method was 1.0 × 10-6 – 1.0 × 10-5 mol L-1. In addition, the limit of detection (LOD) and relative standard deviation (RSD%) of the method were 1.2 × 10-8 mol L- 1 and 3.2, respectively. The CL method was successfully used for the determination of paracetamol in pharmaceutical formulations. In addition, the possible mechanism of the Fe3O4 NPs–NaHCO3–H2O2 CL reaction was also discussed, briefly. Moreover, it should be mentioned that the Fe3O4 nanoparticles (NPs) used in this work have average size about 20–40 nm and were synthesized by using a quick precipitation method. Those were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques.
