Preparation of multiwall carbon nanotubes film modified electrode and its application to simultaneous determination of oxidizable amino acids in ion chromatography

A multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) film modified electrode was prepared and used as an amperometric sensor for the simultaneous determination of oxidizable amino acids including cysteine, tryptophane and tyrosine. The electrochemical behaviors of these amino acids at this modified electrode were studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The results indicated that the MWNTs chemically modified electrode (CME) exhibited efficient electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of these amino acids with relatively high sensitivity, stability and long-life. Following separation by ion chromatography (IC) with 2.0 x 10(-3) Mol l(-1) citric acid buffer solution (pH 6.5) as eluent, cysteine, tryptophane and tyrosine could be determined by the MWNTs CME successfully. Under the optimal conditions, the detection limits were 7.0 x 10(-7) Mol l(-1) for cysteine, 2.0 x 10(-7) Mol l(-1) for tryptophane and 3.5 x 10(-7) Mol l(-1) for tyrosine at the signal-to-noise of 3, respectively. The method was applied successfully to the determination of these substances in plasma. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.