Enantioselective recognition of chiral mandelic acid in the presence of Zn(II) ions by l-cysteine-modified electrode

An obviously enantioselective strategy for the recognition of mandelic acid (MA) enantiomers in the presence of Zn(II) ions on a l-cysteine (l-Cys) self-assembled gold electrode is described. The high recognition of MA was evaluated via electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. After the modified electrode interacted with R- or S-MA solution containing Zn(II) ions for 10 min, larger electrochemical response signals were observed for R-MA. Time dependencies of the enantioselective interaction for the modified electrode with the solitary Zn(II) solution and MA enantiomers solutions containing Zn(II) were also investigated. The results showed that the enantioselective recognition was caused by the selective formation of Zn complex with l-Cys and MA enantiomers. In addition, the enantiomeric composition of R- and S-MA enantiomer mixtures could be monitored by measuring the current responses of the sample.