Determination of thiol compounds in rat striatum microdialysate by HPLC with a nanosized CoHCF-modified electrode

A cobalt hexacyanoferrate (CoHCF) nanoparticle (size ca. 60 nm) chemically modified electrode (CME) was fabricated and the electrochemical behavior of thiols at this nanosized CoHCF CME was studied. In comparison with a bare glassy carbon (GC) electrode and with a general CoHCF CME which was electrodeposited in the traditional manner, the present nanosized CoHCF CME efficiently performed electrocatalytic oxidation for glutathione (GSH) and L-Cysteine (L-Cys) with relatively high sensitivity, outstanding stability, and long-life. Combined with high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), the nanosized CoHCF CME was used for electrochemical determination (ECD) of GSH and L-Cys. The peak currents were a linear function of concentrations in the range 2.0×10^–7 to 2.0×10^–4 mol L^–1 for both GSH and L-Cys, with detection limits of 1.2×10^–7 and 1.0×10^–7 mol L^–1, respectively. Coupled with microdialysis sampling, the HPLC–ECD system has been successfully used to assess the GSH and L-Cys content of rat striatum.