Electrochemical Detection of Dopamine at Fe₃O₄/SPEEK Modified Electrode

Reported here is the design of an electrochemical sensor for dopamine (DA) based on a screen print carbon electrode modified with a sulphonated polyether ether ketone-iron (III) oxide composite (SPCE-Fe₃O₄/SPEEK). L. serica leaf extract was used in the synthesis of iron (III) oxide nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄NPs). Successful synthesis of Fe₃O₄NP was confirmed through characterization using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), ultraviolet–visible light (UV–VIS), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was used to investigate the electrochemical behaviour of Fe₃O₄/SPEEK in 0.1 M of phosphate buffer solution (PBS) containing 5 mM of potassium ferricyanide (III) solution (K₃[Fe(CN)₆]). An increase in peak current was observed at the nanocomposite modified electrode SPCE-Fe₃O₄/SPEEK) but not SPCE and SPCE-Fe₃O₄, which could be ascribed to the presence of SPEEK. CV and square wave voltammetry (SWV) were employed in the electroxidation of dopamine (0.1 mM DA). The detection limit (LoD) of 7.1 μM and 0.005 μA/μM sensitivity was obtained for DA at the SPCE-Fe₃O₄/SPEEK electrode with concentrations ranging from 5–50 μM. LOD competes well with other electrodes reported in the literature. The developed sensor demonstrated good practical applicability for DA in a DA injection with good resultant recovery percentages and RSDs values.