A novel sensor made of Antimony Doped Tin Oxide-silica composite sol on a glassy carbon electrode modified by single-walled carbon nanotubes for detection of norepinephrine

• Published in: Materials Science & Engineering C 2017-11, Vol.80, p.180-186
• Main Authors: Wang, Zhao, Wang, Kai, Zhao, Lu, Chai, Shigan, Zhang, Jinzhi, Zhang, Xiuhua, Zou, Qichao
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antimony; ATO; Blood levels; Carbon; Composite materials; Composite sol; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Electron microscopy; Glassy carbon; Humans; Indium tin oxides; Materials science; MIP; Nanotechnology; Nanotubes; Nanotubes, Carbon; Norepinephrine; Scanning electron microscopy; Sensors; Silica; Silica sol; Silicon Dioxide; Single wall carbon nanotubes; Sol-gel processes; SWNTs; Tin Compounds; Tin oxide
• ISSN: 0928-4931; 1873-0191
• DOI: 10.1016/j.msec.2017.03.227

In this study, we designed a novel molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), Antimony Doped Tin Oxide (ATO)-silica composite sol, which was made using a sol–gel method. Then a sensitive and selective imprinted electrochemical sensor was constructed with the ATO-silica composite sol on a glassy carbon electrode modified by single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The introduction of SWNTs increased the sensitivity of the MIP sensor. The surface morphology of the MIP and MIP/SWNTs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and the optimal conditions for detection were determined. The oxidative peak current increased linearly with the concentration of norepinephrine in the range of 9.99×10−8M to 1.50×10−5M, as detected by cyclic voltammetry (CV), the detection limit was 3.33×10−8M (S/N=3). In addition, the proposed electrochemical sensors were successfully applied to detect the norepinephrine concentration in human blood serum samples. The recoveries of the sensors varied from 99.67% to 104.17%, indicating that the sensor has potential for the determination of norepinephrine in clinical tests. Moreover, the imprinted electrochemical sensor was used to selectively detect norepinephrine. The analytical application was conducted successfully and yielded accurate and precise results. •An imprinted electrochemical sensor was used for the detection of norepinephrine.•The surface morphology of MIP film and MIP/SWNTs film was characterized by SEM.•Using SWNTs to modify the electrodes can increase the electrochemical signals•The sensor shows a low detection limit, wide linear range, and good reproducibility.