Electrochemical biosensor based on silver nanoparticles–polydopamine–graphene nanocomposite for sensitive determination of adenine and guanine

A multifunctional Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs)–polydopamine (Pdop)@graphene (Gr) composite was prepared by a simple and mild procedure. Gr was easily coated with Pdop at room temperature and then AgNPs was deposited by mildly stirring. The nanocomposite was characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Guanine and adenine as model moleculars were employed to study their electrochemical responses at the Ag–Pdop@Gr composite modified electrode, which showed more favorable electron transfer kinetics than Gr modified glassy carbon and AgNPs modified glassy carbon electrodes. The Ag–Pdop@Gr modified electrode exhibited linear ranges of 0.04–50 μM and 0.02–40 μM with detection limits of 4.0 nM and 2.0 nM for guanine and adenine, respectively. The developed method was applied for simultaneous determination of trace-level adenine and guanine in fish sperm. The results demonstrated that the AgNPs–Pdop@Gr nanocomposite was a promising substrate for the development of high-performance electrocatalysts for biosensing.