Determination of Sulfacetamide in Blood and Urine Using PBS Quantum Dots Sensor and Artificial Neural Networks

Abstract

Fluorescent chemical sensors have been proposed to detect drugs by increasing or shutting down the fluorescence emission and absorption. These sensors have been used because they are non-destructive, able to show concentrations, have fast response time and high accuracy. In this research, a chemical sensor based on PbS functionalized with gelatin quantum dots was utilized for sulfacetamide detection. The calibration curve was linear in the range of 0.02 to 10 µg/L. The standard deviation was less than 2.0%, and the method detection limit (3s/m) was 0.022 nM; the response for PbS quantum dot–gelatin nanocomposite sensor was obtained in 50 s at 330 nm at a 95% confidence level. The artificial neural network model was used as a tool for determining the mean square error (MSE of 0.031) for sulfacetamide by PbS quantum dot–gelatin nanocomposite sensor. The observed outcomes confirmed suitable recovery and very low detection limit for sulfacetamide determination. The fluorometric method was applied to quantify sulfacetamide in real samples such as urine and blood and could be used for other drugs and hospital samples. The chemical PbS quantum dot–gelatin nanocomposite sensor is an excellent sensor with good reproducibility.