Carbon‐nanotube Modified Screen‐printed Electrode for the Simultaneous Determination of Nitrite and Uric Acid in Biological Fluids Using Batch‐injection Amperometric Detection

A portable electroanalytical system applied for rapid and simultaneous determination of uric acid (UA) and nitrite (NIT) in human biological fluids (urine, saliva and blood) is reported. The system is based on batch‐injection analysis with multiple‐pulse amperometric (BIA‐MPA) detection using screen‐printed electrodes (SPEs) modified with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes. Sample dilution in optimized electrolyte (0.1 mol L⁻¹ Britton‐Robinson buffer pH 2) followed by injection of 100 μL on the electrode surface using an electronic micropipette is performed. UA is detected at +0.45 V and both UA+NIT at +0.70 V. Linear calibration plots for UA and NIT were obtained over the range of 1–500 μmol L⁻¹ with detection limits of 0.05 and 0.06 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. For comparison, a differential‐pulse voltammetric (DPV) method was optimized, and linear calibration plots for UA and NIT were obtained over range of 1–30 μmol L⁻¹ and 1–40 μmol L⁻¹ with detection limits of 0.1 and 0.3 μmol L⁻¹, respectively. BIA‐MPA is highly precise (RSD<1.3 %), fast (160 h⁻¹) and free from sample‐matrix interferences as recovery values ranged from 77 to 121 % for spiked samples (short contact time of sample aliquot with SPE). Contrarily, recovery tests conducted using DPV did not provide adequate recovery values (>150 %), probably due to the longer contact time of the SPE with the biological samples during analysis leading to a severe interference of sample matrices.     

Simple and Fast Determination of Warfarin in Pharmaceutical Samples Using Boron‐doped Diamond Electrode in BIA and FIA Systems with Multiple Pulse Amperometric Detection

This paper proposes the use of the boron‐doped diamond electrode (BDDE) in flow and batch injection analysis (FIA and BIA) systems with multiple‐pulse amperometric (MPA) detection for the determination of warfarin (WA) in pharmaceutical formulations. The electrochemical behavior of WA obtained by cyclic voltammetry (CV) in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer shows an irreversible oxidation process at +1.0 V (vs Ag/AgCl). The MPA was based on the application of two sequential potential pulses as a function of time on BDDE: (1) for WA detection at +1.2 V/100 ms and; (2) for electrode surface cleaning at −0.2 V/200 ms. Both hydrodynamic systems (FIA‐MPA and BIA‐MPA) used for WA determination achieved high precision (with relative standard deviations around 2 %, n =10), wide linear range (2.0−400.0 μmol L⁻¹), low limits of detection (0.5 μmol L⁻¹) and good analytical frequency (94 h⁻¹ for FIA and 130 h⁻¹ for BIA). The WA determination made by the proposed methods was compared to the official spectrophotometric method. The FIA‐MPA and BIA‐MPA methods are simple and fast, being an attractive option for WA routine analysis in pharmaceutical industries.     

New Method for Carbohydrates Determination in Sugarcane Bagasse by HPAEC‐RPAD Using Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Carbon Nanotubes and Nickel Nanoparticles

Second generation ethanol can be produced from carbohydrates released from both sugarcane bagasse cell wall and sugarcane straw. The development of new method for the analysis of carbohydrates is, in this sense, seen as extremely relevant in the area of bioenergy. Based on the above considerations, the scope of this work encompasses the identification and quantification of carbohydrates composition in sugarcane bagasse without the need of sample derivatization, developing a novel analytical method using a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes containing nickel oxyhydroxide nanoparticles (GCE/MWCNT/NiOOH) and applying the modified electrode as a detector in HPAEC (High Performance Anion‐Exchange Chromatography) with reverse pulsed amperometric detection (RPAD) towards the determination of arabinose, galactose, glucose and xylose in hydrolyzed sugarcane bagasse. The carbohydrates concentrations determined in the hydrolyzed sugarcane bagasse were 6.1×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹, 1.0×10⁻² mol L⁻¹ and 2.8×10⁻³ mol L⁻¹ for arabinose, glucose, and xylose respectively. Our results showed that the present method is, in essence, attractive for analysis in the course of the production process of second generation ethanol production in that it does not require sample derivatization, has rapid run time, satisfactory separation, and can be used for the detection of carbohydrates without the interference of other electroactive species.     

Voltammetric Method for the Simultaneous Determination of Melatonin and Pyridoxine in Dietary Supplements Using a Cathodically Pretreated Boron‐doped Diamond Electrode

The simultaneous voltammetric determination of melatonin (MT) and pyridoxine (PY) has been carried out at a cathodically pretreated boron‐doped diamond electrode. By using cyclic voltammetry, a separation of the oxidation peak potentials of both compounds present in mixture was about 0.47 V in Britton‐Robinson buffer, pH 2. The results obtained by square‐wave voltammetry allowed a method to be developed for determination of MT and PY simultaneously in the ranges 1–100 μg mL⁻¹ (4.3×10⁻⁶–4.3×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹) and 10–175 μg mL⁻¹ (4.9×10⁻⁵–8.5×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹), with detection limits of 0.14 μg mL⁻¹ (6.0×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹) and 1.35 μg mL⁻¹ (6.6×10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹), respectively. The proposed method was successfully to the dietary supplements samples containing these compounds for health‐caring purposes.     

Fast and Simple Electrochemical Analysis Kit for Quality Control of Narrow Therapeutic Index Drugs

The use of multiple‐pulse amperometry (MPA) for the determination of narrow therapeutic index (NTI) drugs using batch injection analysis (BIA) with carbon screen‐printed electrodes (SPE) is proposed, seeking to develop a practical and low‐cost analysis kit for application in routine quality control of these drugs. The electrochemical behaviors of aminophylline, carbamazepine, clindamycin, colchicine, minoxidil, prazosin, procainamide, theophylline, warfarin and verapamil were evaluated in different electrolytes, but just one, the 0.1 mol L⁻¹ phosphate buffer, pH 7.0, was chosen for determination of all the analytes. The amperometric detection was optimized as a function of the best oxidation potential for carbon SPE for each analyte, which was in a range from 0.7 to 1.1 V. The injection conditions were determined as a function of the velocity and the volume injected by the BIA system, which were 92.5 μL s⁻¹ and 100 μL, respectively. Under these conditions, a good repeatability (RSD<3 %), high analytical frequency (>215 determinations per hour), large linear ranges and low LOD (<0.42 μmol L⁻¹) for all the NTI drugs were obtained. Furthermore, the proposed method provided an easy qualitative analysis of the investigated analytes using MPA detection. The addition‐recovery studies in pharmaceutical samples containing NTI drugs and the comparison with official methods showed that the proposed analysis Kit is a very fast, simple and efficient alternative for quantification of these analytes.     

On‐line preconcentration strategy for the simultaneous quantification of three local anesthetics in human urine using CZE

The simultaneous determination of usually employed anesthetics (procaine, lidocaine, and bupivacaine) has been developed and validated using CE with ultraviolet detection at 212 nm. The separation of these three drugs has been achieved in less than 7 min, using a temperature of 25ºC and 25 kV, with a 150 mM citrate buffer (pH 2.5) as BGE. Field‐amplified sample injection (FASI) has been used for on‐line sample preconcentration. Ultrapure water and ACN 50/50 (v/v) mixture gave the greatest enhancement factor when it was employed as an injection solvent. Injection voltage and time were optimized, being 13 kV and 13 s, the optimum values, respectively. To avoid the possible irreproducibility associated with the electrokinetic injection, an internal standard such as tetracaine, was employed. The instrumental detection limits (LOD S/N = 3) for the compounds ranged between 2.6 and 7.0 μg L⁻¹ and the quantitation limits (LOQ S/N = 10) between 37.8 and 55.9 μg L⁻¹. The detection limits obtained in real human urine samples ranged between 55.2 and 83.6 μg L⁻¹ and the quantitation limits between 196.0 and 276.0 μg L⁻¹. The proposed method has demonstrated its applicability to the analysis of these local anesthetics in urine samples without any pretreatment, allowing the rapid determination of these target analytes.     

Comparative Study on Electroanalysis of Fenthion Using Silver Amalgam Film Electrode and Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Reduced Graphene Oxide

Oxidation and reduction processes of the insecticide fenthion was comparatively investigated at a reduced graphene oxide modified glassy carbon electrode (RGO‐GCE) and a cyclic renewable silver amalgam film electrode (Hg(Ag)FE) using square wave stripping voltammetry (SWSV). The influence of pH and SW parameters was investigated. The linear concentration ranges were found to be 1 × 10⁻⁶ – 2 × 10⁻⁵ and 1 × 10⁻⁷ – 2 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ for Hg(Ag)FE and RGO‐GCE, respectively. The detection and quantification limits were calculated as 1.3 × 10⁻⁷ and 4.5 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ for Hg(Ag)FE and 7.6 × 10⁻⁹ and 2.5 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ for RGO‐GCE. Both of the developed electroanalytical methods offer rapid and simple detection of fenthion and were used on spiked tap and river water and apple juice samples. Scanning electron microscopy was used for RGO‐GCE surface characterization.     

Development of an Electrochemical Sensor Based on Covalent Molecular Imprinting for Selective Determination of Bisphenol‐A

In this study, an electrochemical sensor was developed and used for selective determination of bisfenol‐A (BPA) by integrating sol‐gel technique and multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) modified paste electrode. BPA bounded by covalently to isocyanatopropyl‐triethoxy silane (ICPTS) was synthesized as a new precursor (BPA‐ICPTS) and then BPA‐imprinted polymer (BPA‐IP) sol‐gel was prepared by using tetramethoxysilane (TMOS) and BPA‐ICPTS. Non‐imprinted polymer (NIP) sol‐gel was obtained by using TMOS and (3‐Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane. Both BPA‐IP and NIP sol‐gels were characterized by nitrogen adsorption‐desorption analysis, FTIR, SEM, particle size analyzer and optical microscope. Carbon paste sensor electrode was fabricated by mixing the newly synthesized BPA‐IP with MWCNTs, graphite powder and paraffin oil. The electrochemical characterization of the sensor electrode was achieved with cyclic and differential pulse voltammetric techniques. The response of the developed sensor under the most proper conditions was linear in BPA concentration range from 4.0×10⁻⁹ to 1.0×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ and 5.0×10⁻⁷ to 5.0×10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ and the detection limit was 4.4×10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹. The results unclosed that the proposed sensor displayed high sensitivity and selectivity, superior electrochemical performance and rapid response to BPA.     

Batch Injection Analysis Utilizing Modified Electrodes with Tetraruthenated Porphyrin Films for Acetaminophen Quantification

Batch injection analysis (BIA) utilizing amperometric detection with glassy carbon electrodes modified with [Co(TPyP){Ru(bipy)₂Cl}₄](TFMS)₅?H₂O porphyrin films were explored for acetaminophen analysis in pharmaceutical formulations. BIA is an interesting alternative for application of electrodes modified with tetraruthenated porphyrins. This sensor exhibited sharp current response peaks, rapid washout and excellent reproducibility for BIA‐amperometric quantification of acetaminophen. Also, a wide linear working range (10^?4 to 10^?6 mol L^?1) as well as high sensitivity and sampling frequency rate (detection limit=1.1×10^?7 mol L^?1, sampling frequency=120 injections/h) and a small volume of analysis (100 μL/injection) was achieved. Furthermore, the proposed method permits the direct quantification of acetaminophen in many pharmaceutical products, avoiding cumbersome processes as previous separations, solvent extraction or sample filtration. The new procedure was applied to the analysis of commercial pharmaceutical products and the results were in excellent agreement with the ones obtained by spectrophotometric method. Accordingly, this amperometric method showed to be very well suited for quality control analysis and other applications with similar requirements.     

Simultaneous Electrochemical Determination of Hydroquinone and Bisphenol A using a Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Silver Nanoparticles

In this paper, a rapid and sensitive modified electrode for the simultaneous determination of hydroquinone (HQ) and bisphenol A (BPA) is proposed. The simultaneous determination of these two compounds is extremely important since they can coexist in the same sample and are very harmful to plants, animals and the environment in general. A carbon paste electrode (CPE) was modified with silver nanoparticles (nAg) and polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP). The PVP was used as a reducing and stabilizing agent of nAg from silver nitrate in aqueous media. The nAg‐PVP composite obtained was characterized by transmission electron microscopy and UV‐vis spectroscopy. The electrochemical behavior of HQ and BPA at the nAg‐PVP/CPE was investigated in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ B−R buffer (pH 6.0) using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The results indicate that the electrochemical responses are improved significantly with the use of the modified electrode. The calibration curves obtained by SWV, under the optimized conditions, showed linear ranges of 0.09–2.00 μmol L⁻¹ for HQ (limit of detection 0.088 μmol L⁻¹) and 0.04–1.00 μmol L⁻¹ for BPA (limit of detection 0.025 μmol L⁻¹). The modified electrode was successfully applied in the analysis of water samples and the results were comparable to those obtained using UV‐vis spectroscopy.     

3D‐printed Microfluidic Device Based on Cotton Threads for Amperometric Estimation of Antioxidants in Wine Samples

The present work describes the evaluation of microfluidic electroanalytical devices constructed by a 3D printer using ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) polymer combined with cotton threads as microchannels. Screen‐printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) were used as electrochemical detector for amperometric determination of gallic and caffeic acid in wine samples. Using optimal experimental conditions (flow rate of 0.71 μL s⁻¹, applied potential of +0.30 V and volume of injection of 2.0 μL) the proposed method presented a linear response for a concentration range of 5.0×10⁻⁶ to 1.0×10⁻³ mol L⁻¹. The detection limits for gallic and caffeic acid were found to 1.5×10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ and 8.0×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, respectively, with a sample throughput of 43 h⁻¹. The achieved results are in agreement with those found using the official Folin‐Ciocaulteu method.     

Stable isotope dilution assay for the accurate determination of tricaine in fish samples by HPLC–MS–MS

Tricaine methanesulfonate is one of most commonly used anesthetics in fish during blood sampling, artificial propagation and long‐distance transportation. In this study, an accurate method for the quantitative determination of tricaine in fish samples by a stable isotope dilution assay coupled with high‐performance liquid chromatography–triple quadrupole mass spectrometry was developed. Tricaine‐D₅ was synthesized and used as an isotopically labeled internal standard for the determination of tricaine. The analytical performance of the method was validated for tricaine determination in marine fish and freshwater fish. The determination of tricaine was linear in the range of 2.0–200.0 μg L^?1. The limit of detection and limit of quantitation for fish muscle tissues were 1.0 and 4.0 μg kg^?1, respectively. Good recoveries were obtained in the range of 92.08–97.50%. The inter‐ and intra‐assay relative standard deviations (RSD values) were investigated, and the values were 0.39–3.01 and 0.85–2.77%, respectively. The values of CCα and CCβ were 10.21–10.43 and 10.42–10.87 μg kg^?1, respectively. The clearance of MS‐222 from grass carp was further studied using our method. The results demonstrate that MS‐222 could be well absorbed and rapidly eliminated after bath administration.     

Graphdiyne and Ionic Liquid Composite Modified Gold Electrode for Sensitive Voltammetric Analysis of Rutin

It is significant to develop a point-of-care testing (POCT) method for rapid detection of medicinal molecules. In this paper, a graphdiyne (GDY)-ionic liquid (IL) composite was prepared via one-step facile ultrasound preparation process and then modified on gold (Au) electrode surface by simple casting method. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy were used to characterize the morphology of GDY-IL composite. Cyclic voltammetric results proved that GDY-IL composite on the electrode surface could effectively improve electron transfer rate, which meant that GDY-IL composite had high conductivity with big surface area. Finally, the modified electrode exhibited excellent performances for rutin detection with wider linear range (8.0×10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹–2.0×10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ and 2.0×10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹–1.5×10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹) and lower detection limit (2.7 nmol L⁻¹, 3S₀/S). The Nafion/GDY-IL/Au electrode showed good sensitivity and high selectivity, which was satisfactory in analytical application to real samples. Therefore, the GDY-IL composite modified electrode has the potential applications in the POCT for electrochemical analysis of various medicinal molecules.     

Simultaneous Voltammetric Determination of Paracetamol,Codeine and Caffeine on Diamond‐like Carbon Porous Electrodes

A porous electrode material combining the features of vertically aligned multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (VAMWCNT) and diamond‐like carbon films (DLC) have been developed for a highly sensitive electrochemical sensor. For working electrode preparation, DLC has been grown onto VAMWCNT, forming a porous, conductive and stable composite. The electrochemical performance of this DLC:VAMWCNT electrode has been investigated toward detection and analysis of three well‐known molecules, namely paracetamol, codeine and caffeine. A ternary mixture of these analytes was simultaneously determined under optimum experimental conditions using square‐wave voltammetry. Wide linear concentration ranges and the limits of detection of 3.34×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, 1.57×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ and 3.67×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ were obtained for paracetamol, codeine and caffeine, respectively. We conclude that the proposed voltammetric method and the DLC:VAMWCNT electrode comprise a reliable methodology for simultaneous determination of paracetamol, codeine and caffeine in biological matrix samples.     

Simultaneous Determination of Lipophilic Vitamin Esters Using Square-wave Voltammetry at the Glassy Carbon Electrode

Simple and rapid voltammetric method for simultaneous determination of all-trans-retinyl acetate (RAc) or all-trans-retinyl palmitate (RPa) and α-tocopheryl acetate (α-TOAc) has been proposed. The respective method was based on the anodic oxidation of the compounds of interest by square-wave voltammetry in acetone with 0.1 mol L⁻¹ LiClO₄ at the glassy carbon electrode. The procedure was also beneficial with respect to simple dissolution of sample directly in the supporting electrolyte. The all-trans-retinyl acetate could be quantified in two linear ranges (3.1–140 μmol L⁻¹ and 140–400 μmol L⁻¹) and α-tocopheryl acetate in linear range 5.3–400 μmol L⁻¹ with detection limits of 0.9 μmol L⁻¹ RAc (or 0.8 μmol L⁻¹ RPa) and of 1.6 μmol L⁻¹ α-TOAc. Selected commercial cosmetic products were analysed achieving satisfactory recoveries.     

Voltammetric Determination of Pb,Cu and Hg in Biodiesel Using Gold Screen‐printed Electrode: Comparison of Batch‐injection Analysis with Conventional Electrochemical Systems

This article compares the use of batch‐injection analysis (BIA) with a conventional batch system for the anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) determination of Pb, Cu and Hg in biodiesel using screen‐printed gold electrode (SPGE). The optimized BIA conditions were 200 µL of injection volume of the digested samples at 5 µL s^?1 directly on the working electrode of the SPGE immersed in 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl solution. Therefore, BIA‐ASV presented the advantages of low sample consumption, which extended the SPGE lifetime to a whole working day of analyses, and potential for on‐site analysis using battery‐powered micropipettes and potentiostats. Although presenting lower sensitivity than conventional systems, the BIA‐ASV presented detection limit values of 1.0, 0.5 and 0.7 µg L^?1, respectively for Pb, Cu and Hg, a linear range between 20 and 280 µg L^?1, and adequate recovery values (90–110 %) for spiked biodiesel samples.     

Electrochemical Oxidation of Astaxanthin on Glassy‐carbon Electrode and its Amperometric Determination Using Batch Injection Analysis (BIA)

This work presents the electrochemical oxidation of the antioxidant astaxanthin on a glassy‐carbon electrode (GCE) and its amperometric determination in salmon samples using a batch‐injection analysis (BIA) system. The proposed BIA method consisted of 80‐µL a fast microliter injection of sample at 193 µL s^?1 on the GCE immersed in the electrolyte, a mixture of acetone, dichloromethane, and water (80 : 10 : 10 v/v), containing 0.1 mol L^?1 HClO₄. Advantages include high precision (RSD of 2.4 %), sample throughput of 240 h^?1, and low detection limit (0.3 µmol L^?1 that corresponds to 0.1 µg g^?1) for the analysis of acetone extracts of salmon samples. Recovery values between 83 and 97 % attested the accuracy of the method.     

Batch‐injection versus Flow‐injection Analysis Using Screen‐printed Electrodes: Determination of Ciprofloxacin in Pharmaceutical Formulations

This article highlights the potential use of multi‐walled carbon‐nanotube modified screen‐printed electrodes (SPEs) for the amperometric sensing of ciprofloxacin and compares the association of batch‐injection analysis (BIA) and flow‐injection analysis (FIA) with amperometric detection. Both analytical systems provided precise (RSD<5 %) and sensitive determination of ciprofloxacin (LOD<0.1 μmol L^?1) within wide linear range (up to 200 μmol L^?1). Accuracy of both methods was attested by recovery values (93–107 %) and comparison with capillary electrophoresis. The BIA system is completely portable (especially due to association with SPEs) and provided faster analyses (130 h^?1) and more sensitive detection than the FIA system due to the higher flow rates of injection.     

Tapioca Biofilm Containing Nitrogen‐doped Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Detection of 17‐β Estradiol

A novel sensor architecture based on thin film of tapioca decorated within nitrogen‐doped titanium dioxide (N‐TiO₂) nanoparticles is reported. The nanostructures were characterized by scanning electron microscope, transmission electron microscope, X‐rays diffraction and voltammetric techniques. The proposed electrode was used for detection of low concentrations of 17‐β estradiol in without purification step, which was investigated by using linear sweep adsorptive stripping voltammetry. Under optimal conditions, the analytical curve was linear over a 17β‐estradiol concentration range of 9.9×10⁻⁶ to 1.4×10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 1.7×10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹. The tapioca and N‐TiO₂ nanoparticles homogeneous film was applied for detection of 17‐β‐estradiol in tap water and synthetic urine samples, which presented satisfactory results.     

Amperometric detection of indapamide on glassy carbon electrode

This work describes the development of a fast, precise and reliable voltammetric method for the quantification of indapamide, an orally active diuretic sulfonamide used for hypertensive treatment. This compound acts inhibiting sodium reabsorption and increasing the elimination of water. This characteristic was responsible for its banishment by the International Olympic Committee since 1999. The study begins by finding an adequate potential range (−0.20 to 0.30 V) to avoid poisoning the working glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in phosphate buffer 0.10 mol L⁻¹ (pH=12.0). Utilizing flow injection analysis, linear responses between 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ to 2.5 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹ of indapamide (R²=0.995), and detection limit (LOD) 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ were obtained. This method was applied for the quantification of indapamide in tablets and in synthetic urine. The same flow system was used for the analysis of commercial drugs and the response obtained corresponded to 98 % of the concentration indicated on the drug label. These tablets were also analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), obtaining a recovery of 103 % and LOD 4.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹. The velocity of analysis using flow methods compares advantageously to the classical chromatographic methods. For synthetic urine, linear responses were obtained in samples spiked in the region from 5.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ to 30 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ (R²=0.991) and LOD 3.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹.