Amperometric determination of glutathione and cysteine on a Pd-IrO(2) modified electrode with high performance liquid chromatography in rat brain microdialysate

A Pd/IrO(2) co-electrodeposited glassy carbon electrode was prepared and the electrochemical behavior of glutathione (GSH) at this chemically modified electrode (CME) has been studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results indicated that the modified electrode efficiently exhibited electrocatalytic oxidation for GSH with relatively high sensitivity, stability, and long-life. Coupled with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the Pd/IrO(2) modified electrode was utilized for the electrochemical detection (ECD) of the thiocompounds, glutathione and cysteine (Cys). The peak currents were linear with the substance concentrations in the range of 1.0 x 10(-5) mol L(-1) to 8.0 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) for GSH and 4.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) to 2.0 x 10(-4) mol L(-1) for Cys. The detection limits were 2.0 x 10(-6) mol L(-1) for GSH and 5.0 x 10(-7) mol L(-1) for Cys with S/N of 3. The method has been successfully applied to assess the contents of GSH and Cys in rat brain microdialysates.