Voltammetric determination of anabolic steroid nandrolone at gold nanoparticles modified ITO electrode in biological fluids

The electrochemical behavior of nandrolone decanoate (ND) at gold nanoparticles modified indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode was investigated. Oxidation of ND has been carried out in phosphate containing supporting electrolyte in the pH range 2.1-9.2 and a well-defined oxidation peak was noticed. The peak potential (E_p) of the oxidation peak decreases linearly with increasing pH. Linear calibration curve is obtained over the nandrolone decanoate concentration range of 50 nM to 1.5 μM at pH 7.2 with a detection limit of 1.36 × 10⁻⁷ M. The proposed method is effectively applied to detect the concentration of ND in human blood serum and urine samples after 24 and 72 h of intramuscular injection. The method is rapid and does not require any pre-treatment.