Electrochemical behavior of tryptophan and its derivatives at a glassy carbon electrode modified with hemin

The electrochemical behavior of tryptophan (Trp) and its derivatives, such as indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), 5-hydroxy-indole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) and glycyl-tryptophan (Gly-Trp) peptide at a glassy carbon electrode modified with hemin (hemin/GC electrode) by electropoIymerization have been investigated in detail. The results showed that the hemin/GC electrode would catalyze the electrochemical oxidation of Trp and its derivatives, based on which a differential pulse voltammetric procedure has been proposed for determination of Trp and its derivatives. Meanwhile, the electrochemical reaction mechanism for these compounds at hemin/GC electrode has been also investigated, and the results indicated that a two electron and two proton transfer was involved in the electrode reaction process. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.