Zinc oxide/redox mediator composite films-based sensor for electrochemical detection of important biomolecules

Electrochemical oxidation of serotonin (SN) onto zinc oxide (ZnO)-coated glassy carbon electrode (GCE) results in the generation of redox mediators (RMs) that are strongly adsorbed on electrode surface. The electrochemical properties of zinc oxide-electrogenerated redox mediator (ZnO/RM) (inorganic/organic) hybrid film-coated electrode has been studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), and electrochemical techniques proved the immobilization of ZnO/RM core/shell microparticles on the electrode surface. The GCE modified with ZnO/RM hybrid film showed two reversible redox peaks in acidic solution, and the redox peaks were found to be pH dependent with slopes of −62 and −60 mV/pH, which are very close to the Nernst behavior. The GCE/ZnO/RM-modified electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidations of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA) in 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.0). Indeed, ZnO/RM-coated GCE separated the anodic oxidation waves of DA, AA, and UA with well-defined peak separations in their mixture solution. Consequently, the GCE/ZnO/RMs were used for simultaneous detection of DA, AA, and UA in their mixture solution. Using CV, calibration curves for DA, AA, and UA were obtained over the range of 6.0 × 10−6 to 9.6 × 10−4 M, 1.5 × 10−5 to 2.4 × 10−4 M, and 5.0 × 10−5 to 8 × 10−4 M with correlation coefficients of 0.992, 0.991, and 0.989, respectively. Moreover, ZnO/RM-modified GCE had good stability and antifouling properties.