Simultaneous voltammetric detection of ascorbic acid and uric acid at a carbon-paste modified electrode incorporating thionine–nafion ion-pair as an electron mediator

The electrochemical behavior of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) at the surface of a carbon-paste electrode modified with incorporate thionine–nafion ion-paired was thoroughly investigated. The results show the presence of nafion inside the matrix of modified electrode, because of the effective ion-pairing and hydrophobic interactions, significantly enhances the stability of thionine as an electron mediator inside the modified electrode. A high reproducibility in voltammetric response to analyte species results because of this enhancement. The cyclic voltammetric studies using the prepared modified electrode show the best electrocatalytic property for the electro-oxidation of AA and noticeable decrease in anodic overpotential. Although the catalytic effect is observed to some extent for UA, the property cannot be seen for other biologically reducing agents such as cysteine. The voltammetric studies using the thionine–nafion modified electrode show two well-resolved anodic peaks for AA and UA, revealing the possibility of the simultaneous electrochemical detection of these compounds in the presence of biological thiols. The detection limits of 5 × 10−8 and 5 × 10−7 M were obtained in differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) measurements for UA and AA, respectively. Spectrophotometric investigations were used to confirm the selective catalytic effect of thionine in oxidation of AA and to some extent, UA. The detection system is stable (R.S.D. for the slope of the calibration curves was less than 4% for six measurements in one month) and is of high selectivity for electro-oxidation of AA and UA in complex biological and clinical matrices. The prepared modified electrode is applied for the DPV measurement of AA in pharmaceutical preparations. Also, the electrode is used to determine UA in human urine and serum samples and recovery of the amounts of UA added to these complex samples.