Electrochemical determination of dopamine based on carbon nanotube-sol-gel titania-Nafion composite film modified electrode

A highly sensitive electrochemical detection method for dopamine (DA) has been developed by relying on a multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT)-sol-gel titania-Nafion composite film modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode exhibited excellent electrocatalytic activity towards DA. Therefore, the CNT-titania- Nafion/GC electrode showed improved voltammetric and amperometric responses for DA compared to those obtained with both titania-Nafion/GC and Nafion/GC electrodes. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode gave a linear response (R² = 0.999) for DA from 0.5 μM to 0.5 mM with a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.1 μM and a good sensitivity of 150 mA/M while other electrodes such as CNT-Nafion/GC, titania-Nafion/GC, and a bare GC gave a sensitivity of 89, 39, and 36 mA/M, respectively. Besides, the CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode displayed very fast response time within 2 s. The modified electrode showed good selectivity against ascorbic acid. The modified electrode showed good stability and reproducibility. The CNT-titania-Nafion/GC electrode was applied to the determination of DA in urine and serum samples.