Enhanced-oxidation and highly-sensitive detection of acetaminophen, guanine and adenine using NMP-exfoliated graphene nanosheets-modified electrode

Graphene nanosheets (GS) were easily prepared by one-step ultrasonic exfoliation of graphite powder in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP). Compared with the widely-used reduced graphene oxides that prepared via chemical methods, the NMP-exfoliated GS exhibited higher electron transfer ability. Moreover, the resulting GS displayed higher electrochemical reactivity toward the oxidation of acetaminophen (AC), guanine (G) and adenine (A). In pH 6.5 phosphate buffer, three well-defined oxidation waves at 0.41 V, 0.69 V and 0.96 V were observed, and the oxidation peak currents were greatly enhanced on the surface of GS. As a result, a highly-sensitive electrochemical sensing platform was developed for the simultaneous detection of AC, G and A. The detection limits of AC, G and A on GS-modified electrode were evaluated to be 2.5 nM, 10 nM and 10 nM, respectively. Besides, the proposed method was successfully applied in the detection of tablet and DNA samples. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.