Ratiometric Electrochemical Sensors Associated with Self-Cleaning Electrodes for Simultaneous Detection of Adrenaline, Serotonin, and Tryptophan

Electrochemical sensors have long suffered from issues such as nonspecific adsorption, poor anti-interference ability, and internal and external disturbances. To address these challenges, we developed a facile electrochemical method, which integrated a ratiometric strategy with self-cleaning electrodes. In the novel sensing system, the self-cleaning electrode was realized via forming a hydrophobic layer on carbonized ZIF-67@ZIF-8 (cZIF) by polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) precursor vaporization. As for ratiometry, it is worth to mention that the measurements were conducted by adding an interior reference (methylene blue) directly into electrolyte solution, which is more facile and flexible to operate compared with conventional ones. Sensing performance of the self-cleaning electrode as well as the newly established ratiometric strategy was explored fully, and it turned out that PDMS@cZIF nanocomposites provided decent electrocatalytic ability, superhydrophobic property, and stability. Furthermore, the ratiometric strategy significantly elevated the robustness and reproducibility of electrochemical sensing. Simultaneous detection of Adr, 5-HT, and Trp was performed under the optimum experimental conditions with wide linear ranges and low detection limits. Finally, the original ratiometric electrochemical sensor was successfully applied for monitoring the three target molecules in biological samples.