Selective Determination of Levodopa in the Presence of Vitamin B6, Theophylline and Guaifenesin Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified with a Composite of Hematoxylin and Graphene/ZnO.

An electrode has been developed based on using a composite of hematoxylin/graphene/ZnO nanocomposite to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The electrode (HGGCE) was tested and found to be applicable for the voltammetric analysis of levodopa in the presence of vitamin B6, theophylline and guaifenesin using a 0.1 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) pH 7 as the solvent. The HGGCE was used as the working electrode in cyclic voltammetry (CV) and square wave voltammetry (SWV) studies on the electrochemical behavior of levodopa at its surface. The results showed a dramatic enhancement in the oxidation current of levodopa and a shift in its oxidation potential towards more negative potentials as opposed to identical tests using bare GCE as the working electrode. The studies showed that the increase in the oxidation current has two linear profiles in two concentration ranges of 0.05 - 90.0 and 90.0 - 1000.0 μM. The detection limit of SWV analysis using the modified electrode was determined to be 0.03 μM (S/N = 3). Further advantages of the methods based on HGGCE include the simple modification procedure of the electrode, as well as its excellent sensitivity and reproducibility. The modified electrode was eventually found to be applicable to the determination of mixtures of levodopa, vitamin B6, theophylline and guaifenesin in real samples.