Electrochemical determination of maltol in food products using a poly(L-tryptophan) modified glassy carbon electrode

Herein, a poly(L-tryptophan) modified glassy carbon electrode (Ptry/GCE) for the determination of maltol is fabricated by electrochemical polymerisation. The electrochemical behaviour of maltol at the Ptry/GCE is studied by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The modified electrode shows excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of maltol and the oxidation is a one-proton-one-electron process. In pH 8.0 phosphate buffer solution (PBS), the oxidation peak current of maltol shows a linear relationship with its concentration in the range from 9.00 x 10(-5) to 3.75 x 10(-3) mol L-1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.9972. The limit of detection is estimated to be 8.00 x 10(-6) mol L-1. The novel method shows good selectivity, recovery, reproducibility and great convenience and has been satisfactorily demonstrated in real food sample analysis.