Gold Nanospikes Formation on Screen-Printed Carbon Electrode through Electrodeposition Method for Non-Enzymatic Electrochemical Sensor

In this study, we reported the construction of Gold Nanospike (AuNS) structures on the surface of screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) used for non-enzymatic electrochemical detection. This modification was prepared with a one-step electrodeposition method by controlling the electrodeposition parameters, such as applied potential and deposition time, via Constant Potential Amperometry (CPA). Those parameters and precursor solution concentration were varied to investigate the optimum electrodeposition configuration. The results confirmed that AuNS were homogenously deposited and well-dispersed on the working electrode surface of SPCE. The AuNS-modified SPCE was implemented as a non-enzymatic sensor toward dopamine and could enhance the electrocatalytic ability compared with the bare SPCE. Further examination shows that the sensing performance of the AuNS-modified SPCE produced an increase in electrochemical surface area (ECSA) at 17.25 times higher than the bare electrode, a sensitivity of 0.056 µA mM−1 cm−2 with a wide linear range of 0.2–50 µM and a detection limit of 0.33 µM. In addition, AuNS-modified SPCE can selectively detect dopamine among other interfering analytes such as ascorbic acid, urea, and uric acid, which commonly coexist in the body fluid. This work demonstrated that AuNS-modified SPCE is a prospective sensing platform for non-enzymatic dopamine detection.