Comparison of the analytical performance of two different electrochemical sensors based on a composite of gold nanorods with carbon nanomaterials and PEDOT:PSS for the sensitive detection of nitrite in processed meat products

Abstract

Herein, two platforms for electrochemical sensors were developed based on a combination of gold nanorods (AuNRs) with electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ErGO) or with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and PEDOT:PSS for nitrite detection. The first and second electrodes were denoted as AuNRs/ErGO/PEDOT:PSS/GCE and AuNRs/MWCNT/PEDOT:PSS/GCE, respectively. Both materials for electrode modifiers were then characterized using UV-Vis and Raman spectroscopy, SEM, and HR-TEM. In addition, both sensors exhibit good electrochemical and electroanalytical performance for nitrite detection when investigated using voltammetric techniques. The synergistic effect between the AuNRs and their composites enhanced the electrocatalytic activity toward nitrite oxidation compared with the unmodified electrode, and the electroanalytical performance of the second electrode was superior to the first electrode. This is because the high surface area and conductivity of the MWCNTs in the second electrode provide the highest electrochemically active area (0.1510 cm²) among the other electrodes. Moreover, the second electrode exhibited a higher value for the surface coverage and the diffusion coefficient than the first electrode for nitrite detection. The electroanalytical performances of the first and second electrode for nitrite detection in terms of concentration range are 0.8–100 μM and 0.2–100 μM, limit of detection (0.2 μM and 0.08 μM), and measurement sensitivity (0.0451 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻² and 0.0634 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²). Good selectivity was also shown from both sensors in the presence of NaCl, Na₂SO₄, Na₃PO₄, MgSO₄, NaHCO₃, NaNO₃, glucose, and ascorbic acid as interfering species for nitrite detection. Furthermore, both sensors were employed to detect nitrite as a food preservative in the beef sample, and the results showed no significant difference compared with the spectrophotometric technique. These results indicate that both proposed nitrite sensors may be further applied as promising electrochemical sensing platforms for in situ nitrite detection.