Enhanced sensing of dopamine in the present of ascorbic acid based on graphene/poly(p-aminobenzoic acid) composite film

Graphene/p-aminobenzoic acid composite film modified glassy carbon electrode (Gr/p-ABA/GCE) was first employed for the sensitive determination of dopamine (DA). The electrochemical behavior of DA at the modified electrode was investigated by cyclic voltametry (CV), differential pulse voltametry (DPV) and amperometric curve. The oxidation peak currents of DA increased dramatically at Gr/p-ABA/GCE. The modified electrode was used to electrochemically detect dopamine (DA) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The Gr/p-ABA composite film showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of DA in phosphate buffer solution (pH 6.5). The peak separation between DA and AA was large up to 220 mV. Using DPV technique, the calibration curve for DA determination was obtained in the range of 0.05-10 mu M. The detection limit for DA was 20 nM. AA did not interfere with the determination of DA because of the very distinct attractive interaction between DA cations and the negatively Gr/p-ABA composite film. The proposed method exhibited good stability and reproducibility. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.