Novel Design of a Layered Electrochemical Dopamine Sensor in Real Samples Based on Gold Nanoparticles/β-Cyclodextrin/Nafion-Modified Gold Electrode

Change in the level of dopamine (DA) concentration in the human body causes critical diseases such as schizophrenia and Parkinson's disease. Therefore, the determination of DA concentration and monitoring its level in human body fluids is of great importance. An electrochemical sensor based on modification of the gold electrode surface with Nafion (NF), β-cyclodextrin (CD), and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) was fabricated for the determination of DA in biological fluids. Combined impact of all the modifiers enhances the catalytic activity of the sensor. Gold nanoparticles increase the surface area of the sensor and enhance the electron transfer rate. CD plays a main role in enhancing the accumulation of protonated DA and forming stable complexes via electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bond formation. In addition, extra preconcentration of positively charged DA is achieved through ionic selectivity of NF. High electrocatalytic activity was achieved using the modified sensor for determination of DA in real urine samples in a wide concentration range, 0.05-280 μM with a low detection limit of 0.6 nM in the small linear dynamic range, 0.05-20 μM. Furthermore, common overlapped oxidation peaks of DA in presence of biologically interfering compounds at the gold electrode were resolved by using the modified sensor. Excellent recovery results were obtained using the proposed method for determination of DA in real urine samples.