Green synthesis of a novel flower-like cerium vanadate microstructure for electrochemical detection of tryptophan in food and biological samples

Abstract

In this present investigation, we introduced a novel electrochemical sensor for the detection of tryptophan (TRP) based on green pompoms flower-like cerium vanadate (CeVO4). The flower-like CeVO4 microstructure was prepared by the simple hydrothermal treatment with the assistance of urea for the first time. The as-prepared flower-like CeVO4 microstructure was characterized by various analytical and spectroscopic techniques such as X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy studies. The electrochemical properties are evaluated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). As an electrochemical sensor, the green pompoms flower-like CeVO4 modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) displayed an excellent electrocatalytic activity for the detection of TRP. The obtained electrochemical results revealed that the oxidation of TRP, exhibited a lower potential and higher anodic peak current when compared to unmodified GCE. These results were suggested that the flower-like CeVO4/GCE have a good electrocatalytic activity towards the TRP oxidation. The flower-like CeVO4 sensor exhibited the wide linear concentration range and low detection limit of 0.1–94µM and 0.024µM respectively. Finally, the proposed sensor was successfully applied to the determination of TRP in real sample analysis such as food and biological samples with satisfied recoveries.