Affordable voltammetric sensor based on anodized disposable pencil graphite electrodes for sensitive determination of dopamine and uric acid in presence of high concentration of ascorbic acid

Abstract

<p class="PaperAbstract">A simple, disposable and low - cost voltammetric sensor based on the anodized pencil graphite electrode (APGE) for the simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) is demonstrated. The physico-chemical properties of the pencil graphite electrode (PGE) before and after anodization were analyzed using FT-IR, FT-Raman, SEM and EIS characterization techniques. In comparison to PGE, APGE exhibited excellent electrochemical activity towards the simultaneous detection of DA and UA with peak-to-peak separation of about 0.18 V even in the presence of high concentration (2 mM) of ascorbic acid (AA). The discrimination of APGE towards AA was rationalized through the absence of favorable surface interactions between oxygen rich functional groups on the surface of APGE and AA. Using DPV without any pre-concentration step and under optimized conditions, APGE displayed a linear range of 1 – 80 μM with an estimated limit of detection (LOD, 3σ/m) of 0.008 μM and 0.014 μM for DA and UA, respectively. Moreover, a higher sensitivity in comparison to other previously reported pretreated pencil graphite electrodes was observed for DA (34.32 μA/μM) and UA (12.33 μA/μM). The practical applicability of APGE was demonstrated through the estimation of DA in human blood serum and UA in urine samples.</p>