Fullerene-C60-modified electrode as a sensitive voltammetric sensor for detection of nandrolone--an anabolic steroid used in doping

The electrochemical behaviour of nandrolone is investigated by cyclic, differential pulse and square-wave voltammetry in phosphate buffer system at fullerene-C₆₀-modified electrode. The modified electrode shows an excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of nandrolone resulting in a marked lowering in the peak potential and considerable improvement of the peak current as compared to the electrochemical activity at the bare glassy carbon electrode. The oxidation process is shown to be irreversible and diffusion-controlled. A linear range of 50 μM to 0.1 nM is obtained along with a detection limit and sensitivity of 0.42 nM and 0.358 nA nM⁻¹, respectively, in square-wave voltammetric technique. A diffusion coefficient of 4.13 × 10⁻⁸ cm² s⁻¹ was found for nandrolone using chronoamperometry. The effect of interferents, stability and reproducibility of the proposed method were also studied. The described method was successfully employed for the determination of nandrolone in human serum and urine samples. A cross-validation of observed results by GC-MS indicates that the results are in good agreement with each other.     

Electrocatalytic oxidation behavior of guanosine at graphene, chitosan and Fe3O4 nanoparticles modified glassy carbon electrode and its determination

A graphene, chitosan and Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (nano-Fe₃O₄) modified glassy carbon electrode (graphene-chitosan/nano-Fe₃O₄/GCE) was fabricated. The modified electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscope and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The electrochemical oxidation behavior of guanosine was investigated in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution by cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. The experimental results indicated that the modified electrode exhibited an electrocatalytic and adsorptive activities towards the oxidation of guanosine. The transfer electron number (n), transfer proton number (m) and electrochemically effective surface area (A) were calculated. Under the optimized conditions, the oxidation peak current was proportional to guanosine concentration in the range of 2.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 3.5 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ with the correlation coefficient of 0.9939 and the detection limit of 7.5 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ (S/N = 3). Moreover, the modified electrode showed good ability to discriminate the electrochemical oxidation response of guanosine, guanine and adenosine. The proposed method was further applied to determine guanosine in spiked urine samples and traditional Chinese medicines with satisfactory results.     

Voltammetric determination of atenolol at C(60)-modified glassy carbon electrodes

C₆₀-modified glassy carbon electrode has been found to exhibit excellent electrocatalytic activity towards atenolol oxidation for its voltammetric determination at physiological pH. Lowering of overpotential associated with atenolol oxidation indicates electrocatalytic nature of electrode. Determination of atenolol was carried out at pH 7.2 at modified electrode and a well-defined oxidation peak has been observed ∼1040 mV versus Ag/AgCl electrode for atenolol oxidation. Calibration plot having good co-linearity with a correlation coefficient 0.997 was obtained in the concentration range of 0.25-1.5 mM atenolol and the sensitivity of the method has been found to be 8.58 μA mM⁻¹. The detection limit is found to be 0.16 mM. The method developed is applicable for atenolol determination in pharmaceutical preparations and urine samples. The modified electrode showed a good surface coverage (∼85%) with C₆₀.     

Electrochemical oxidation of l-cysteine mediated by a fullerene-C60-modified carbon electrode

Use of a glassy carbon electrode modified by adhered microcrystals of fullerene-C₆₀ mediates the oxidation of cysteine in the presence of aqueous potassium-containing electrolytes. Under conditions of cyclic voltammetry, the potential for the oxidation of cysteine is lowered by approximately 100 mV and current is enhanced significantly relative to the situation prevailing when a bare glassy carbon electrode is used. Additional mediation occurs when the potential range covered includes that of C₆₀/C₆₀ⁿ⁻ redox couples. The sensitivity under condition of cyclic voltammetry is significantly dependent on pH, temperature and C₆₀ dosage. Excellent analytical and/or recovery data are obtained with vitamin pill, cassamino acid (hydrolyzed casein) and for a range of beverages.     

Fabrication of a new electrochemiluminescent sensor for fentanyl citrate based on glassy carbon microspheres and ionic liquid composite paste electrode

Due to the high performance of glassy carbon in the aspects of mechanical strength, electrical conductivity and high corrosion resistance, etc., glassy carbon has been widely used in the electrochemistry. A new form of glassy carbon, glassy carbon microsphere, was utilized to couple with ionic liquid in preparing a new electrochemiluminescent platform for Ru(bpy)₃Cl₂. Room temperature ionic liquid has been proposed to be very interesting and efficient pasting binder to replace the non conductive organic binders for the fabrication of composite paste electrode. Attributed to the special characteristics of glassy carbon microspheres and room temperature ionic liquid [N-octylpyridium tetrafluoroborate (OPFP)], this new electrochemiluminescent sensor exhibited excellent electrochemiluminescent performance in Ru(bpy)₃²⁺ solution. We first found that fentanyl citrate could increase the ECL of Ru(bpy)₃²⁺, hence an ECL approach was developed for the determination of fentanyl citrate based on this glassy carbon microspheres based electrochemiluminescent platform with high sensitivity. Under the optimized conditions, the enhanced electrochemiluminescent intensity versus fentanyl citrate concentration was linear in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ with a detection limit of 8.5 × 10⁻⁹ mol L⁻¹, and the relative standard deviation for 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol L⁻¹ fentanyl citrate was 1.90% (n = 10). This protocol has extended the application scopes of glassy carbon material and promoted the application of glassy carbon microspheres in electroanalysis.     

A novel amperometric sensor for the detection of difenidol hydrochloride based on the modification of Ru(bpy)3 on a glassy carbon electrode

An amperometric sensor for the detection of difenidol, a tertiary amine-containing analyte, was proposed. Ruthenium(II) tris(bipyridine)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/Nafion composite film was suggested to modify the glassy carbon electrode. The modified electrode was shown to be an excellent amperometric sensor for the detection of difenidol hydrochloride. The linear range is from 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 3.3 × 10⁻⁵ M with a correlation coefficient of 0.998. The limit of detection was 5 × 10⁻⁷ M, which was obtained through experimental determination based on a signal-to-noise ratio of three. The sensor was employed to the determination of the active ingredients in the tablets containing difenidol hydrochloride.     

An all-solid-state polymeric membrane Pb-selective electrode with bimodal pore C60 as solid contact

An all-solid-state polymeric membrane Pb²⁺ ion-selective electrode (Pb²⁺-ISE) based on bimodal pore C₆₀ (BP-C₆₀) as solid contact has been developed. A BP-C₆₀ film can be readily formed on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode by electrochemical deposition. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the BP-C₆₀ film. The large double layer capacitance and fast charge-transfer capability make BP-C₆₀ favorable to be used as solid contact for developing all-solid-state ISEs. The all-solid-state BP-C₆₀-based Pb²⁺-ISE shows a Nernstian response in the range from 1.0 × 10⁻⁹ to 1.0 × 10⁻³ M with a detection limit of 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ M. The membrane electrode not only displays an excellent potential stability with the absence of a water layer between the ion-selective membrane and the underlying BP-C₆₀ solid contact, but also is insensitive to interferences from O₂, CO₂ and light. The proposed solid-contact Pb²⁺-ISE has been applied to determine Pb²⁺ in real water samples and the results agree well with those obtained by anodic stripping voltammetry.     

Immobilization of [Cu(bpy)2]Br2 complex onto a glassy carbon electrode modified with α-SiMo12O40 and single walled carbon nanotubes: Application to nanomolar detection of hydrogen peroxide and bromate

A simple procedure has been used for preparation of modified glassy carbon electrode with carbon nanotubes and copper complex. Copper complex [Cu(bpy)₂]Br₂ was immobilized onto glassy carbon (GC) electrode modified with silicomolybdate, α-SiMo₁₂O₄₀⁴⁻ and single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs)_. Copper complex and silicomolybdate irreversibly and strongly adsorbed onto GC electrode modified with CNTs. Electrostatic interactions between polyoxometalates (POMs) anions and Cu-complex, cations mentioned as an effective method for fabrication of three-dimensional structures. The modified electrode shows three reversible redox couples for polyoxometalate and one redox couple for Cu-complex at wide range of pH values. The electrochemical behavior, stability and electron transfer kinetics of the adsorbed redox couples were investigated using cyclic voltammetry. Due to electrostatic interaction, copper complex immobilized onto GC/CNTs/α-SiMo₁₂O₄₀⁴⁻ electrode shows more stable voltammetric response compared to GC/CNTs/Cu-complex modified electrode. In comparison to GC/CNTs/Cu-complex the GC/CNTs/α-SiMo₁₂O₄₀⁴⁻ modified electrodes shows excellent electrocatalytic activity toward reduction H₂O₂ and BrO₃⁻ at more reduced overpotential. The catalytic rate constants for catalytic reduction hydrogen peroxide and bromate were 4.5(±0.2) × 10³ M⁻¹ s⁻¹ and 3.0(±0.10) × 10³ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, respectively. The hydrodynamic amperommetry technique at 0.08 V was used for detection of nanomolar concentration of hydrogen peroxide and bromate. Detection limit, sensitivity and linear concentration range proposed sensor for bromate and hydrogen peroxide detection were 1.1 nM and 6.7 nA nM⁻¹, 10 nM-20 μM, 1 nM, 5.5 nA nM⁻¹ and 10 nM-18 μM, respectively.     

Prussian Blue electrodeposited on MWNTs-PANI hybrid composites for H2O2 detection

A Prussian Blue (PB)/polyaniline (PANI)/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) composite film was fabricated by step-by-step electrodeposition on glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrode prepared exhibits enhanced electrocatalytic behavior and good stability for detection of H₂O₂ at an applied potential of 0.0 V. The effects of MWNTs thickness, electrodeposition time of PANI and rotating rate on the current response of the composite modified electrode toward H₂O₂ were optimized to obtain the maximal sensitivity. A linear range from 8 × 10⁻⁹ to 5 × 10⁻⁶ M for H₂O₂ detection has been observed at the PB/PANI/MWNTs modified GCE with a correlation coefficient of 0.997. The detection limit is 5 × 10⁻⁹ M on signal-to-noise ratio of 3. To the best of our knowledge, this is the lowest detection limit for H₂O₂ detection. The electrode also shows high sensitivity (526.43 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²) for H₂O₂ detection which is more than three orders of magnitude higher than the reported.     

Composite film of carbon nanotubes and chitosan for preparation of amperometric hydrogen peroxide biosensor

A new amperometric biosensor for hydrogen peroxide was developed based on cross-linking horseradish peroxidase (HRP) by glutaraldehyde with multiwall carbon nanotubes/chitosan (MWNTs/chitosan) composite film coated on a glassy carbon electrode. MWNTs were firstly dissolved in a chitosan solution. Then the morphology of MWNTs/chitosan composite film was characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that MWNTs were well soluble in chitosan and robust films could be formed on the surface. HRP was cross-linked by glutaraldehyde with MWNTs/chitosan film to prepare a hydrogen peroxide biosensor. The enzyme electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity and rapid response for H₂O₂ in the absence of a mediator. The linear range of detection towards H₂O₂ (applied potential: −0.2 V) was from 1.67 × 10⁻⁵ to 7.40 × 10⁻⁴ M with correction coefficient of 0.998. The biosensor had good repeatability and stability for the determination of H₂O₂. There were no interferences from ascorbic acid, glucose, citrate acid and lactic acid.     

Electrochemical determination of iodide on a vanadium oxide-polypropylene carbonate coated glassy carbon electrode

A vanadium oxide-modified glassy carbon electrode was simply and conveniently fabricated by casting vanadium tri(isoproxide) oxide (VO(OC₃H₇)₃) and poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) onto the glassy carbon electrode surface. The electrochemical properties of iodide at the VO(OC₃H₇)₃-PPC film-modified glassy carbon electrode were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, and an anodic peak was observed at approximately +0.71 V (vs. SCE). Based on this, a sensitive and convenient electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of iodide. Flow injection amperometry (FIA) exhibited a good linear relationship with the concentration of iodide in the range of 5 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ and 1 × 10⁻³ mol L⁻¹, and the detection limit was 1 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹. Quantitative recovery of iodide in synthetic samples has been obtained and the interferences from different cations and anions have been studied. The method has been successfully applied to the determination of iodide in dry edible seaweed. The concentrations of iodide measured by this method are in good agreement with those obtained by spectrophotometric method.     

Preparation and characterization of Prussian blue nanowire array and bioapplication for glucose biosensing

Prussian blue nanowire array (PBNWA) was prepared via electrochemical deposition with polycarbonate membrane template for effective modification of glassy carbon electrode. The PBNWA electrode thus obtained was demonstrated to have high-catalytic activity for the electrochemical reduction of hydrogen peroxide in neutral media. This enabled the PBNWA electrode to show rapid response to H₂O₂ at a low potential of −0.1 V over a wide range of concentrations from 1 × 10⁻⁷ M to 5 × 10⁻² M with a high sensitivity of 183 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². Such a low-working potential also substantially improved the selectivity of the PBNWA electrode against most electroactive species such as ascorbic acid and uric acid in physiological media. A detection limit of 5 × 10⁻⁸ M was obtained using the PBNWA electrode for H₂O₂, which compared favorably with most electroanalysis procedures for H₂O₂. A biosensor toward glucose was then constructed with the PBNWA electrode as the basic electrode by crosslinking glucose oxidase (GOx). The glucose biosensor allowed rapid, selective and sensitive determination of glucose at −0.1 V. The amperometric response exhibited a linear correlation to glucose concentration through an expanded range from 2 × 10⁻⁶ M to 1 × 10⁻² M, and the response time and detection limit were determined to be 3 s and 1 μM, respectively.     

Voltammetry determination of trace manganese with pretreatment glassy carbon electrode by linear sweep voltammetry

This paper described the determination of trace manganese using linear sweep voltammetry at a pretreatment glassy carbon electrode. The glassy carbon electrode pretreated by electrochemical method in the 0.1 mol l⁻¹ NaOH solution greatly improved the electrode responsibility in the determination of manganese(II). The barrier to the detection of low manganese concentration was overcome by means of autocatalytic effect of manganese oxide deposited on the electrode in advance. Under the optimum experiments condition (0.04 mol l⁻¹ NH₃-NH₄Cl buffer solution, pH 9.0), the linear range was 4×10⁻⁸ to 1×l0⁻⁶ mol l⁻¹ Mn(II) for linear sweep voltammetry and 1×10⁻⁹ to 4×10⁻⁸ mol l⁻¹ Mn(II) for convolution voltammetry. The relative standard deviation for 2×10⁻⁸ mol l⁻¹ Mn(II) is 3.4%. The proposed method is simple, rapid, sensitive and selective. It had been applied to the determination of trace manganese in samples with satisfactory results.     

The petentiometric determination of peroxide hydrogen and glucose on the glassy electrode modified by the calix[4]arene

A new petentiometric method to determine peroxide hydrogen and glucose had been studied. This method had been applied on the petentiometric determination of peroxide hydrogen and glucose in the total ionic strength adjustment buffer (TISAB) (pH 7.5) solution with the glassy electrode modified by the calix[4]arene. The glassy carbon electrode covered with the calix[4]arene depended on the H₂O₂ concentration in the range of log[H₂O₂] from −3.3 to −1.2 in the solution of TISAB (pH 7.5) with nearly Nernstian slope of about 65.6 ± 3 mV and the detection limit of peroxide hydrogen was 4.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹. The glassy carbon electrode covered with the calix[4]arene depended on the glucose concentration in the range of log[glucose] from −3.6 to −2.8 in the solution of TISAB (pH 7.5) with nearly Nernstian slope of about 50.2 ± 2 mV and the detection limit of glucose was 2.0 × 10⁻⁵ mol L⁻¹. The electrode had the good selectivity, sensitivity, stability and repeatability.     

Langmuir-Blodgett film of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene modified glassy carbon electrode as voltammetric sensor for the determination of Hg(II)

The π-A isotherms and UV-vis spectra of the transferred films suggested that the monolayer of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4]arene can coordinate with Hg²⁺ at the air-water surface. From these observations, a glassy carbon electrode coated with Langmuir-Blodgett film of p-tert-butylthiacalix[4] arene as a new voltammetric sensor is designed for the determination of trace amounts of Hg²⁺. Compared with bare glassy carbon electrode and modified glassy carbon electrode using direct coating method, the Langmuir-Blodgett film-modified electrode can greatly improve the measuring sensitivity of Hg²⁺. Under the selected conditions, the Langmuir-Blodgett film-modified electrode in 0.1 mol L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ + 0.01 mol L⁻¹ KCl solution shows a linear voltammetric response for Hg²⁺ in the range of 5.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ to 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 2.0 × 10⁻¹⁰ mol L⁻¹. The proposed method was also applied to determine Hg²⁺ in water samples (tap, lake and river water). In addition, the fabricated electrode exhibited a distinct advantage of simple preparation, non-toxicity, good reproducibility and good stability.     

Simultaneous determination of guanosine and guanosine-5'-triphosphate in biological sample using gold nanoparticles modified indium tin oxide electrode

A nanogold modified indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode was used for the simultaneous determination of guanosine and GTP at pH 7.2. The electrode exhibited an effective catalytic response towards their oxidation and lowered the oxidation potential of guanosine by ∼120 mV and GTP by ∼183 mV. Linear concentration curves were obtained for guanosine with a detection limit of 9.8 × 10⁻⁸ M and 5.5 × 10⁻⁸ M for GTP. The concentration of guanosine and GTP were also estimated in the human blood plasma samples using gold nanoparticles modified ITO electrode with good reproducibility.     

Selective Voltammetric and Flow-Injection Determination of Guanosine and Adenosine at a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with a Ruthenium Hexachlororuthenate Film

An inorganic film of ruthenium hexachlororuthenate (RuRuCl₆), deposited on the surface of a glassy carbon electrode, exhibits electrocatalytic activity in the oxidation of purine nucleosides, such as guanosine and adenosine. Appropriate operating conditions are found for fabricating a polymer film on the surface of glassy carbon and for recording the maximum electrocatalytic current for the modified electrode. A method for the selective voltammetric determination of guanosine and adenosine in their simultaneous presence at an electrode modified by a RuRuCl₆ film is developed. A procedure is proposed for the amperometric detection of purine nucleosides with this modified electrode under the conditions of flow-injection analysis. The linear dependence of the analytical signal on the concentration of guanosine and adenosine is observed up to 5 × 10^–6 M in the stationary mode and up to 5 × 10^–7 M in the flow system. The proposed method for the selective determination of guanosine and adenosine was tested in the analysis of human urine.     

Study of the electrochemical behavior of isorhamnetin on a glassy carbon electrode and its application

The electrochemical behavior of isorhamnetin (ISO) at a glassy carbon electrode was studied in a phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH 4.0 by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetric method (DPV). A well-defined redox wave of ISO involving one electrons and one proton appeared. The electrode reaction is a reactant weak adsorption-controlled process with a charge transfer coefficient (α) of 0.586. Based on the understanding of the electrochemical process of ISO at the glassy carbon electrode, analysis of ISO can be realized. Under optimal conditions, the oxidation peak current showed linear dependence on the concentration of ISO in the range of 1.0 × 10⁻⁸ to 4.0 × 10⁻⁷ M and 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁵ M. The detection limit is 5.0 × 10⁻⁹ M. This method has been successfully applied to the detection of ISO in tablets.     

A highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide amperometric sensor based on MnO2-modified vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes

In this report, a highly sensitive amperometric sensor based on MnO₂-modified vertically aligned multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MnO₂/VACNTs) for determination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) was fabricated by electrodeposition. The morphology of the nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer and X-ray diffraction. Cyclic voltammetry, chronoamperometry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were applied to investigate the electrochemical properties of the MnO₂/VACNTs nanocomposite electrode. The mechanism for the electrochemical reaction of H₂O₂ at the MnO₂/VACNTs nanocomposite electrode was also discussed. In borate buffer (pH 7.8, 0.20 M), the MnO₂/VACNTs nanocomposite electrode exhibits a linear dependence (R = 0.998) on the concentration of H₂O₂ from 1.2 × 10⁻⁶ M to 1.8 × 10⁻³ M, a high sensitivity of 1.08 × 10⁶ μA M⁻¹ cm⁻² and a detection limit of 8.0 × 10⁻⁷ M (signal/noise = 3). Meanwhile, the MnO₂/VACNTs nanocomposite electrode is also highly resistant towards typical inorganic salts and some biomolecules such as acetic acid, citric acid, uric acid and d-(+)-glucose, etc. In addition, the sensor based on the MnO₂/VACNTs nanocomposite electrode was applied for the determination of trace of H₂O₂ in milk with high accuracy, demonstrating its potential for practical application.     

Electrochemical behaviors of guanosine on carbon ionic liquid electrode and its determination

The electrochemical behaviors of guanosine on the ionic liquid of N-butylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (BPPF₆) modified carbon paste electrode (CPE) was studied in this paper and further used for guanosine detection. Guanosine showed an adsorption irreversible oxidation process on the carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) with the oxidation peak potential located at 1.12 V (vs. SCE) in a pH 4.5 Britton-Robinson (B-R) buffer solution. Compared with that on the traditional carbon paste electrode, small shift of the oxidation peak potentials appeared but with a great increment of the oxidation peak current on the CILE, which was due to the presence of ionic liquid in the modified electrode adsorbed the guanosine on the surface and promoted the electrochemical response. The electrochemical parameters such as the electron transfer coefficient (α), the electron transfer number (n), and the electrode reaction standard rate constant (k_s) were calculated as 0.74, 1.9 and 1.26 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹, respectively. Under the optimal conditions the oxidation peak current showed a good linear relationship with the guanosine concentration in the range from 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol/L by cyclic voltammetry with the detection limit of 2.61 × 10⁻⁷ mol/L (3σ). The common coexisting substances showed no interferences to the guanosine oxidation. The CILE showed good ability to distinguish the electrochemical response of guanosine and guanine in the mixture solution. The urine samples were further detected by the proposed method with satisfactory results.