Fabrication and characterisation of high performance polypyrrole modified microarray sensor for ascorbic acid determination

• Gold microelectrode array (Au/MEA) with electrode of 12 μm diameter was fabricated by photolithography technique.
• Subsequently, polypyrrole (Ppy) modified gold microarrays sensor (Ppy/Au/MEA) was prepared.
• Ppy/Au/MEA used for ascorbic acid determination in the presence of different neurotransmitters.
• The micro array exhibited wide linear range, very high sensitivity and very low LOD than the earlier reports.
• It was used successfully to test ascorbic acid in different types real samples.

In this study, gold microelectrode array (Au/MEA) with electrode of 12 μm diameter was fabricated by photolithography technique. Subsequently, polypyrrole (Ppy) modified gold microarrays sensor (Ppy/Au/MEA) was prepared by cyclic voltammetry technique. The deposition potential range and number of cycles were optimised in order to get optimum thickness of Ppy film. Scanning Electron Microscope and Atomic Force Microscope investigations reveal that Ppy coating formed at 3 cycles is porous with thickness of 1.5 μm which exhibiting high catalytic current for ascorbic acid (AA) in square wave technique (SWV). In contrast to earlier sensors designs, these Ppy/Au/MEA sensors exhibits lower detection limit (LOD) of 10 nm towards AA at physiological conditions. It also exhibits enhanced sensitivity (2.5 mA cm−2 mM−1) and long range of linear detection limit from 10 nm to 2.8 mM. In the same way, polypyrrole modified macro Au (Ppy/Au/MA) biosensor was also fabricated and its electro catalytic property towards AA was compared with that of Ppy/Au/MEA. The Ppy/Au/MA exhibits sensitivity of only 0.27 mA cm−2 mM−1, LOD of 5 μM and linear range of 10 μM to 2.2 mM. Hence, our investigations indicate that the Ppy/Au/MEA could serve as highly sensitive sensor for AA than any of the earlier designs. So, the Ppy/Au/MEA electrode was utilised for determination AA in a wide variety of real samples.

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