Simple and rapid voltammetric determination of morphine at electrochemically pretreated glassy carbon electrodes

A simple and rapid method for morphine detection has been described based on electrochemical pretreatment of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) which was treated by anodic oxidation at 1.75 V, following potential cycling in the potential range from 0 V to 1.0 V vs. Ag vertical bar AgCl reference electrode. The sensitivity for morphine detection was improved greatly and the detection limit was 0.2 mu M. The reproducibility of the voltammetric measurements was usually less than 3% RSD for six replicate measurements. Moreover, this method could readily discriminate morphine from codeine. And an electrochemical detection of morphine in spiked urine sample was succeeded with satisfactory results.

Antioxidant Sensors Based on Iron Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic Acid, Hematin, and Hemoglobin Modified TiO2 Nanoparticle Printed Electrodes

Antioxidant amperometric sensors based on iron-containing complexes and protein modified electrodes were developed. Indium tin oxide glass was printed with TiO2 nanoparticles, onto which iron-containing compounds and protein were adsorbed. When applied with negative potentials, the dissolved oxygen is reduced to H2O2 at the electrode surface, and the H2O2 generated in situ oxidizes Fe-II to Fe-III, and then electrochemical reduction of Fe-III therefore gives rise to a catalytic current. In the presence of antioxidants, H2O2 was scavenged, the catalytic current was reduced, and the decreased current signal was proportional to the quantity of existing antioxidants. A kinetic model was proposed to quantify the H2O2 scavenging capacities of the antioxidants. With the use of the sensor developed here, antioxidant measurements can be done quite simply: put the sensor into the sample solutions (in aerobic atmosphere), perform a cathodic polarization scan, and then read the antioxidant activity values. The present work can be complementary to the previous studies of antioxidant sensor techniques based on OH radicals and superoxide ions scavenging methods, but the sensor developed here is much easier to fabricate and use.

Electrochemiluminescence in the S2O82- system: Pt-Cd electrodes

The electrochemiluminescence (ECL) in the S2O82- system occurs under conventional cyclic voltammetry, when the Pt working electrode was coated with Cd elementary substance. The ECL mechanism was proposed, due to the reaction between the strongly oxidizing intermediate SO4 center dot- and the transitory production, CdO, generated by oxidation of Cd with SO4 center dot-. Moreover the ECL behavior was studied in different pHs and concentrations of S2O82- solution. It was showed that the ECL signal was strongest at pH 8.0, and its intensity increased with S2O82-. The experimental results verified well with the proposed ECL mechanism.

Effect of buffer capacity on electrochemical behavior of dopamine and ascorbic acid

It is well known that the electrochemical oxidation of dopamine and ascorbic acid includes the proton and electron transfers at a glassy carbon electrode and their redox potentials are dependent on the pH of solution. When the concentration of the buffer is not enough to neutralize the protons produced by electrochemical oxidation of dopamine and ascorbic acid, two peaks of them can be observed in cyclic voltammograms. The height of the new peak is in proportion to the concentration of proton acceptor including HPO42-, 2,4,6-trimethylpyridine, tris (hydroxymethyl) aminomethane. Moreover, the potential of it is dependent on the type and the concentration of buffer at the same pH of bulk solution. However, this phenomenon cannot be attributed to the interaction between proton acceptor and dopamine or ascorbic acid. So, we think the phenomenon is caused by the acute change of pH at the surface of working electrode. Similar results were also observed in the rotating disk voltammograms. It can be concluded that the electrochemical behavior of some compounds is dependent on the concentration of buffer when this concentration is not enough to neutralize the protons produced in electrochemical oxidation.

Computer simulation of the damage evolution of fiber-reinforced polypropylene-matrix composites with matrix defects

The damage evolution of fiber-reinforced polypropylene-matrix composites with matrix defects was studied via a Monte Carlo technique combined with a finite element method. A finite element model was constructed to predict the effects of various matrix defect shapes on the stress distributions. The results indicated that a small matrix defect had almost no effect on fiber stress distributions other than interfacial shear stress distributions. Then, a finite element model with a statistical distribution of the fiber strength was constructed to investigate the influences of the spatial distribution and the volume fraction of matrix defects on composite failure. The results showed that it was accurate to use the shear-lag models and Green's function methods to predict the tensile strength of composites even though the axial stresses in the matrix were neglected.

Sensitive biomimetic sensor based on molecular imprinting at functionalized indium tin oxide electrodes

We initially report an electrochemical sensing platform based on molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) at functionalized Indium Tin Oxide Electrodes (ITO). In this research, aminopropyl-derivatized organosilane aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), which plays the role of functional monomers for template recognition, was firstly self-assembled on an ITO electrode and then dopamine-imprinted sol was spin-coated on the modified surface. APTES which can interact with template dopamine (DA) through hydrogen bonds brought more binding sites located closely to the surface of the ITO electrode, thus made the prepared sensor more sensitive for DA detection. Potential scanning is presented to extract DA from the modified film, thus DA can rapidly and completely leach out. The affinity and selectivity of the resulting biomimetic sensor were characterized using cyclic voltammetry (CV). It exhibited an increased affinity for DA over that of structurally related molecules, the anodic current for DA oxidation depended on the concentration of DA in the linear range from 2 x 10(-6) M to 0.8 x 10(-3) M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9927.In contrast, DA-templated film prepared under identical conditions on a bare ITO showed obviously lower response toward dopamine in solution.

Rotating minidisk-disk electrodes

Rotating minidisk-disk electrode (RMDDE) was developed by replacing ring electrode of rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) with a minidisk electrode. Its applications were demonstrated by studying electrochemical reactions of ferricyanide and divalent copper. The replacement of ring electrode by minidisk electrode results in following advantages. First, the fabrication of RMDDE is easier than that of RRDE with the same electrode material. Second, there is more freedom in choosing electrode materials and sizes, since it is difficult to make thin ring electrodes of RRDE with fragile materials. Third, the replacement of ring electrode by minidisk electrode saves electrode materials, especially rare materials. Finally, the substitution of minidisk electrode for ring electrode allows using multiple minidisks for simultaneous monitoring of multiple components. Therefore, RMDDE is a promising generator-collector system, especially when special generator-collector systems are not commercially available, such as corrosion study and electrocatalysis study of new electrode materials.

Cathodic electrochemiluminescence in aqueous solutions at bismuth electrodes

The high hydrogen evolution overpotential of a bismuth electrode makes it a powerful electrode for cathodic electro-chemiluminescence studies in aqueous solutions.