Electrochemical determination of serotonin in urine samples based on metal oxide nanoparticles/MWCNT on modified glassy carbon electrode

The electrochemical response of serotonin on the modified electrode based on multiwalled-carbon-nanotube (MWCNT) doped respectively with nickel, zinc and iron oxide nanoparticles coating on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) at physiological pH 7 was determined using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV). The modified GCE/MWCNT-metal oxide electrodes exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the detection of serotonin at large peak current and lower oxidation potentials compared to other electrodes investigated. The dynamic range for the serotonin determination was between 5.98 × 10− 3 μM to 62.8 μM with detection limits 118, 129 and 166 nM for GCE/MWCNT-NiO, GCE/MWCNT-ZnO and GCE/MWCNT-Fe3O4 sensors respectively. GCE-MWCNT-NiO was the best electrode in terms of serotonin current response, electrode stability, resistance to fouling and limit of detection towards the analyte. The developed sensors were found to be electrochemically stable, reusable, economically effective due to their extremely low operational cost, and have demonstrated good limit of detection, sensitivity and selectivity towards serotonin determination in urine samples.