Development and application of a nano-alumina based nitric oxide sensor

A novel sensor is described for the sensitive determination of nitric oxide (NO) based on a nano-alumina (nano-Al2O3) modified glassy carbon electrode. Cyclic voltammetry, chronocoulometry and linear sweep voltammetry were used to investigate the electrochemical response of the sensor and the reaction mechanism of NO at the nano-Al2O3 film based sensor. The surface morphologies of different electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Under optimal working conditions, the peak current of NO oxidation linearly increased with its concentration in the range 0.04 similar to 210 mu mol L-1 with a detection limit of 7.2 nM. The nano-Al2O3 film based sensor was applied to the determination of NO released from rat lung, and the results were satisfactory, which indicates that it may have practical applications in NO monitoring systems.