Nitrite detection in meat products samples by square-wave voltammetry at a new single walled carbon naonotubes--myoglobin modified electrode.

A new modified electrode was realized in a simple way, consisting by the immobilization of a myoglobin (My) - single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) mixture on the surface of a graphite electrode with a Nafion film. The cyclic voltammetry investigations realized with the obtained electrode (G/My-SWCNT/Nafion) showed a voltammetric signal due to a one-step redox reaction of the surface-confined myoglobin, in a deaerated 0.1 M phosphate buffer, pH 7. Also, the G/My-SWCNT/Nafion modified electrode demonstrated a great potential for the analytical determination of nitrite ions by square-wave voltammetry and an alternative for the already existing methods. The use of the sensor for the detection of nitrite ions in samples of meat products leads to comparable results with those obtained with the standard Griess spectrophotometric assay (ISO 2918/1975), proving the suitability of using immobilized myoglobin as electrocatalyst in the nitrite reduction process.