Electrostatic accumulation and determination of triclosan in ultrathin carbon nanoparticle composite film electrodes

A film composed of carbon nanoparticles and poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) or CNP-PDDAC is formed in a layer-by-layer deposition process at tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) substrates. Excess positive binding sites within this film in aqueous phosphate buffer at pH 9.5 are quantified by adsorption of iron(III)phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate and indigo carmine. Both anionic redox systems bind with Langmuirian characteristics (K ≈ 105 mol−1 dm3) and show electrochemical reactivity throughout the film at different thicknesses. Therefore, the electrical conductivity in CNP-PDDAC films is good and the positive binding sites are approximately 140 pmol cm−2 per layer. Structural instability of the CNP-PDDAC film in the presence of high concentrations of iron(III)phthalocyanine tetrasulfonate or indigo carmine is observed.Triclosan, a widely used anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent, exists in aqueous media at pH 9.5 as a negatively charged chlorinated poly-aromatic phenol. Due to the negative charge, triclosan is readily accumulated into CNP-PDDAC films with an efficiency consistent with that expected for simple electrostatic interaction with the cationic binding sites. Oxidation of bound triclosan occurs at 0.6 V versus SCE in a chemically irreversible process. The CNP-PDDAC film electrode is renewed by rinsing in organic solvent and the triclosan oxidation response is shown to correlate with the triclosan concentration in solution from 0.5 to 50 μM. Applications of the CNP-PDDAC film electrode (or improved versions of it) in analysis or in anodic extraction are proposed.