Sensitive voltammetric determination of tryptophan using an acetylene black paste electrode modified with a Schiff's base derivative of chitosan.

Chitosan was modified by salicylaldehyde via Schiff's base reaction and the resulting product was modified on the surface of an acetylene black paste electrode (ABPE) by the drop-coating method. In 0.5 mol L(-1) acetate buffer (pH 4.2), a substantial increase in the anodic stripping peak current of tryptophan (Trp) (compared to conventional bare carbon paste electrode (CPE) and bare ABPE) is observed at the Schiff's base chitosan-modified electrode. The parameters influencing voltammetric determination of Trp have been optimized. Under the selected conditions, the linearity between the anodic peak currents and concentrations of Trp demonstrated a wide range of 6.0 × 10(-8) mol L(-1) to 2.0 × 10(-6) mol L(-1), 2.0 × 10(-6) mol L(-1) to 4.0 × 10(-5) mol L(-1) and 4.0 × 10(-5) mol L(-1) to 1.0 × 10(-4) mol L(-1), a low detection limit of 2.0 × 10(-9) mol L(-1) was obtained after a 60 s accumulation. In addition, the developed electrochemical sensor has been successfully applied for the determination of Trp in pharmaceutical and biological samples with satisfactory assay results.