Simultaneous Determination of Dopamine and Uric Acid using Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with Almond-Shell-Based Nanoporous Carbon

Abstract

Almond-shell-based charcoal was prepared by carbonizing almond shells under nitrogen atmosphere. Nanoporous carbon (NPC) was formed using the obtained activated charcoal by using potassium hydroxide. NPC exhibited a large surface area (1075 m2/g), narrow pore-size distribution (1–2 nm). NPC with Nafion was used to modify glassy carbon electrodes to prepare a highly-sensitive electrochemical sensor for simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA) through differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The detection limits (S/N = 3) for DA and UA were estimated to be 0.22 and 0.34μM, respectively. The as prepared electrodes were also used to detect UA and DA in human urine. The experimental data indicated that this easy, low-cost method can facilitate accurate, fast and simultaneous detection of DA and UA.