High performance electrochemical method for simultaneous determination dopamine, serotonin, and tryptophan by ZrO2–CuO co-doped CeO2 modified carbon paste electrode

Abstract

In this research, a paste containing ZrO2–CuO–CeO2 ternary nanocomposite and graphene (Gr) was used in constructing a carbon paste sensor for monitoring biomolecules including dopamine (Dop), serotonin (Ser) and tryptophan (Trp). The scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were utilized for ZrO2–CuO–CeO2 ternary nanocomposite characterization. The obtained data show that, the ZrO2–CuO–CeO2/Gr and synergetic effect of using these three-metal oxide nanoparticles, could effectively improve the electron transfer kinetic and exhibit a high electrocatalytic activity, making it serve as a powerful tool for biomolecules analysis. The differential pulse (DP) and cycle voltammetry (CV) methods were applied for investigating electrochemical treatment of the analytes. In comparison to all of the previous voltammetric reports, this research has the lowest detection limit and widest linear range. The calibration curves in the optimum conditions were linear over the range of 0.008–7.2 and 7.2–185 μM for Dop, 0.008–7.9 and 7.9–205 μM for Ser and 0.009–8.6 and 8.6–194 μM for Trp. The calculated limit of detection (LOD) was 3.09, 3.49 and 5.32 nM for Dop, Ser and Trp, respectively. The applicability of this sensing device was tested by monitoring Dop, Ser and Trp in the human urine and plasma samples. The recovery percentage of the analysis in the real samples was between 95.6 and 104.74; also, the data of determination of Dop, Ser and Trp with ZrO2–CuO–CeO2/Gr/CPE was well close to HPLC data. The obtained result demonstrates that the ZrO2–CuO–CeO2/Gr/CPE has good selectivity, stability, reproducibility, and repeatability, and can be used for the routine analysis of Dop, Ser and Trp.