Glassy carbon electrode modified with a film of tetraruthenated nickel(ii) porphyrin located in natural smectite clay's interlayer for the simultaneous sensing of dopamine, acetaminophen and tryptophan.

A supramolecular complex μ--tetra(4-pyridyl) porphyrinate nickel(ii)tetrakis[bis(bipyridine)(chloro)ruthenium(ii)] ([NiTPyP{Ru(bipy)Cl}]) was intercalated into the interlayer space of natural smectite clay (shortened as Ba) collected in a Cameroonian deposit at Bagba hill. Physicochemical characterization of the resulting material using ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy (UV-vis), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) confirmed the intercalation of the porphyrin within the interlayer space of the clay. The intercalated clay was then used to form a stable thin film onto a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by drop casting a suspension of the hybrid material. The GCE modified with the intercalated organoclay endowed the electrode with a larger electrochemically active surface area, good stability, high selectivity, and sensitivity toward dopamine (DA), acetaminophen (AC) and tryptophan (Trp). In addition, it was observed that the modified electrodes exhibited good and pH-dependent electrocatalytic properties toward these analytes. The simultaneous determination of DA, AC and Trp at [NiTPyP{Ru(bipy)Cl}]-Ba/GCE was thus possible without the interference of one analyte on the others, and the resulting calibration curve exhibits two segments for the three analytes. For DA, AC and Trp, the detection limits were found to be 0.8 μM, 0.3 μM and 0.3 μM, respectively. The [NiTPyP{Ru(bipy)Cl}]-Ba/GCE modified electrodes were successfully applied for the determination of AC in Paracetamol, a commercial product, and Trp in real pharmaceutical formulation samples.