Metalloporphyrin chemically modified glassy carbon electrodes as catalytic voltammetric sensors

Metalloporphyrin-coated glassy carbon electrodes are used as electrocatalytic voltammetric sensors for numerous clinically important solutes. For such compounds, heterogeneous charge- transfer rates are often very slow at carbon electrodes, leading to poorly defined voltammetric responses. The metalloporphyrin-modified electrodes are shown to decrease by several hundred millivolts the potential required for the oxidation of ascorbic acid, penicillamine, acetaminophen, dihydronicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, hydralazine, epinephrine, cysteine and oxalic acid. The faster rates of electron transfer result in a well defined voltammetric response and increased sensitivity. The differential pulse peaks for caffeic acid, ascorbic acid, acetaminophen and dopamine are enhanced by 18, 10.5, 9.4 and 8.4, respectively. When used for amperometric monitoring of flowing streams, the coated electrode permitted detection at lower potentials than at the naked surface and greatly facilitated assays of urine samples.