Long-term stability of a gold electrode modified with a self-assembled monolayer of octabutylthiophthalocyaninato-cobalt(II) towards l-cysteine detection

In this paper, a gold electrode, modified with octabutylthiophthalocyaninato-cobalt(II) self-assembled monolayer (SAM), was used in the detection of l-cysteine in pH=4 buffer. The SAM showed good electrocatalytic activity and increased the electron transfer rate in such a way that mass-transport became the rate determining step of the overall oxidation reaction of l-cysteine. From these data the diffusion coefficient of l-cysteine was calculated and a value of 4.8±1.1×10⁻⁵ cm² s⁻¹ was obtained. The electrode was found to be stable for l-cysteine detection over a period of one month with a detection limit of 3.1±0.8×10⁻⁷ mol l⁻¹ if the electrode was stored in a pH=4 buffer. Despite these promising results three effects should be taken into account for potential application: first a memory effect limits the frequency of detection to one per 6 min; secondly the electron tunneling effect limits the current density for mass-transport up to 5 μA cm⁻² and finally, the electrode should be activated prior to use for analytical purposes.