Impedimetric biosensor based on magnetic nanoparticles for electrochemical detection of dopamine

Highlights: ► Fabrication of dopamine biosensor based on magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). ► Elimination of interference from ascorbic acid using the negatively charged MNPs. ► Amperometric detection of dopamine (DA) with a detection limit of 7.25 μM. ► Impedance spectroscopy revealed the interfacial properties of modified electrodes. ► Biosensor suitably designed for screening and determination of DA. - Abstract: One of the difficulties which limit the use of electrochemical sensors for detection of dopamine is the interference from ascorbic acid. We have sought to address this problem through the synthesis and characterization of a suitable electrode material based on magnetic nanoparticles. The interference from the ascorbic acid was overcome by fabricating a negatively charged electrode surface using PEGylated arginine functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (PA-MNPs). The nanoparticles were characterized by various techniques viz., X-ray diffraction, FT-Infrared spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy and vibrating sample magnetometer. The electrochemical behavior of the proposed sensor was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and the sensor showed high sensitivity and selectivity for dopamine. The response mechanism of the modified electrode is based on the interaction between the negatively charged electrode and the positively charged dopamine. Under optimized conditions, linear calibration plots were obtained for amperometric detection of dopamine (DA) over the concentration range of 1–9 mM dopamine, with a linear correlation coefficient of 0.9836, sensitivity of 121 μA/mM and a detection limit of 7.25 μM. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) has been used to study the interface properties of modified electrodes. The value of the polarization resistance (Rp) increases linearly with dopamine concentration in the range of 10 μM to 1 mM and the limit of detection (LOD) was calculated to be 14.1 μM. High sensitivity and selectivity, micromolar detection limit, high reproducibility, along with ease of preparation of the electrode surface make this system suitable for the determination of DA in pharmaceutical and clinical preparations.