Voltammetric Determination of 2‐Aminofluoren‐9‐one and Investigation of Its Interaction with DNA on a Glassy Carbon Electrode

Abstract

AbstractVoltammetric behavior of the genotoxic environmental pollutant 2‐aminofluoren‐9‐one (2‐AFN) was investigated using direct current voltammetry (DCV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) in both negative and positive potential regions. For the determination of 2‐AFN based on the cathodic reduction of the carbonyl group, optimum conditions were found in a methanol–BrittonRobinson (BR) buffer pH 4.0 (1 : 9, v/v) medium, with the limits of quantification (LQs) of 0.4 and 0.2 µmol L−1 for DCV and DPV, respectively. For the determination of 2‐AFN based on the anodic oxidation of the amino group, optimum conditions were found in a mixture of methanol–BR buffer pH 8.0 (1 : 9, v/v), with the LQs of 0.8 and 0.6 µmol L−1 for DCV and DPV, respectively. The practical applicability of the newly developed voltammetric methods was verified on the direct determination of 2‐AFN in model samples of drinking and river water. Moreover, the interaction between 2‐AFN and double‐stranded DNA (dsDNA) was investigated by DPV (performed at the bare GCE when both dsDNA and 2‐AFN were present in the measured solution) and square‐wave voltammetry (SWV) (carried out at the dsDNA/GCE biosensor after its incubation in the solutions of 2‐AFN for various times and at various concentrations of 2‐AFN) to characterize damaging effects of the test substance on the dsDNA structure in vitro. The intercalation of 2‐AFN between the dsDNA base pairs was the predominant supramolecular interaction observed.