An Electrochemical Microsensor for the Detection of Nitric Oxide

Abstract

An electrochemical microsensor has been developed for the detection of nitric oxide. The microsensor was fabricated based on a novel nanocomposite film that has good electrocatalytic effect to the oxidation of nitric oxide. Electrochemical techniques, infrared spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize the nanocomposite film and the electrochemical behavior of nitric oxide were investigated. The microsensor was successfully used for the determination of nitric oxide in standard solutions from 1.8 × 10⁻⁸ mol/L–7.6 × 10⁻⁵ mol/L, with a low detection limit of 5 nmol/L (S/N = 3). The advantages of the proposed microsensor include simplicity, short analysis time, cost effectiveness, and selectivity. The results demonstrate the feasibility of a nitric oxide assay in practical sample analysis.

Keywords:

• Electrochemistry
• Microsensor
• Nitric oxide

Acknowledgments

This research is supported by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Nos. 31070885; 61178087), the National Nature Science Foundation of Hubei Province of China (No. BZY09010), the Scientific Research Team Project of South-central University for Nationalities (No. XTZ09002), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Nos. CZQ10003; CTZ12001; CZQ12013).