Secondary abstract: |
The qualitative and quantitative analysis of organic molecules in various samples is crucial to ensuring safety, efficacy, regulatory compliance, and quality in the fields of environmental protection, healthcare, and the food and pharmaceutical industries. In the doctoral dissertation, newly developed electroanalytical methods are presented using unmodified and modified screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCE) for the determination of epinephrine (EP), uric acid (UA), methyl parathion (MP), and insulin (IN) in various real samples, such as drugs, human urine, and drinking water.
In the first method developed, the individual determination of EP and UA was demonstrated using an unmodified SPCE sensor, and an electroanalytical method was developed with single-drop analysis of the solution (50 µL). The linear regression model was evaluated using the weighted least squares method, which improved the accuracy at low concentrations of the linear concentration range for both analytes, compared to the ordinary least squares method. The developed and validated methods were successfully used for the determination of EP in a drug (an autoinjector) and UA in human urine.
In the development of the second electroanalytical method, the surface of the SPCE sensor was modified with L-cysteic acid (LCA), which enabled determination of the pesticide MP in a drinking water sample. The successful electrodeposition of LCA on the working electrode of the LCA-SPCE sensor was confirmed by the time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) technique. The signal of the square-wave (SW) voltammetry technique was significantly enhanced by the presence of LCA on the working electrode of the SPCE sensor, which enabled the analysis of MP in trace amounts. The method developed included a background subtraction process that enhanced the analytical signal. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to clarify the signal enhancement of MP on the LCA-SPCE sensor.
In the development of the third electroanalytical method, a poly-L-cysteine (pLC) layer was electrodeposited on the surface of the SPCE sensor, and this pLC-SPCE sensor was used for the simultaneous determination of EP and UA. The successful electrodeposition of L-cysteine (LC) on the working electrode of the SPCE sensor was confirmed using the ToF-SIMS technique. Various SW parameters (amplitude, potential step, frequency), the pH of the supporting electrolyte, the electrodeposition time, the electrodeposition potential, the molar concentrations of LC, and the number of cycles of LC electropolymerization were optimized to achieve the best electroanalytical performance of the pLC-SPCE sensor. Under these optimized conditions, the analytical method for the simultaneous determination of EP and UA was validated. A study of interferences that could be present in the tested real samples was also performed. The developed and validated pLC-SPCE sensor was successfully used for the determination of EP in an autoinjector and UA in human urine.
In the fourth study, an electroanalytical method for determining the clinically important biomarker IN was developed. An SPCE sensor, modified with a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), was used. In the development of the MIP-SPCE sensor, pyrrole was electropolymerized in the presence of IN. Then, IN molecules were removed from the formed polypyrrole layer, creating cavities with binding sites for IN molecules. The removal of IN was carried out using electrocleaning with cyclic voltammetry. The binding of IN molecules to the formed binding sites on the MIP-SPCE sensor was then achieved by incubation. The determination of IN with the developed MIP-SPCE sensor was performed using single-drop analysis of the solution containing a redox probe [Fe(CN)6]3‒/4‒. The electroanalytical method using the developed MIP-SPCE sensor was validated and its application for the determination of IN in a drug (a cartridge) was demonstrated. |