Selective detection of dopamine in the presence of uric acid using a gold nanoparticles-poly(luminol) hybrid film and multi-walled carbon nanotubes with incorporated β-cyclodextrin modified glassy carbon electrode

Gold nanoparticles-poly(luminol) (Plu-AuNPs) hybrid film and multi-walled carbon nanotubes with incorporated β-cyclodextrin modified glassy carbon electrode (β-CD-MWCNTs/Plu-AuNPs/GCE) was successfully prepared for simultaneous determination of dopamine (DA) and uric acid (UA). The surface of the modified electrode has been characterized by X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), field-emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) have been used to investigate the β-CD-MWCNTs/Plu-AuNPs composite film. Gold nanoparticles anchored into poly(luminol) film exhibited catalytic activity for DA. MWCNTs with incorporated β-CD can greatly promote the direct electron transfer. In 0.10 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS, pH 7.0), the DPV response of the β-CD-MWCNTs/Plu-AuNPs/GCE sensor to DA is about 8-fold as compared with the Plu-AuNPs/GCE sensor, and the detection limit for DA is about one order of magnitude lower than the Plu-AuNPs/GCE sensor. The steady-state current response increases linearly with DA concentration from 1.0 × 10−6 to 5.6 × 10−5 M with a low detection limit (S/N = 3) of 1.9 × 10−7 M. Moreover, the interferences of ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA) are effectively diminished. The applicability of the prepared electrode has been demonstrated by measuring DA contents in dopamine hydrochloride injection.