Abstract

A novel electrochemical sensor based on 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-oxidized cellulose nanocrystals (TOCNCs) and l-cystines (l-Cys) modified Au electrode (TOCNC/l-Cys/Au) has been fabricated for detection and discrimination of the enantiomers of phenylalanine (Phe), leucine (Leu), and valine (Val). The three amino acids are in connection with metabolism diseases. The TOCNC/l-Cys/Au electrode exhibited obvious peak current difference for the amino acid enantiomers by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The TOCNCs on the electrode surface expressed different interactions with d- and l-amino acids, so the electrochemical recognitions of the three amino acid enantiomers were achieved. TOCNCs were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The modified electrodes were characterized by SEM and electrochemical techniques. According to DPV, peak currents of the two enantiomers decreased linearly with their concentrations. Furthermore, satisfactory results were obtained when this electrode was applied to measure the d- and l-Phe mixture. The experimental results show that TOCNCs are suitable material for chiral sensor. The contrast of serum sample of healthy people and patients with type 2 diabetes also was proposed, and significant difference was exhibited on the modified electrode. This work is significant for the screening, diagnosis, and treatment of multiple metabolic diseases.

Abstract

Abstract

Although the separation efficiency of capillary electrophoresis (CE) is much higher than that of other chromatographic methods, it is sometimes difficult to adequately separate the complex ingredients in biological samples. This article describes how one effective and simple way to develop the separation efficiency in CE is to add some modifiers to the running buffer. The suitable running buffer modifier β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) was explored to fast and completely separate four phenylethanoid glycosides and aglycones (homovanillyl alcohol, hydroxytyrosol, 3,4-dimethoxycinnamic acid, and caffeic acid) in Lamiophlomis rotata (Lr) and Cistanche by capillary zone electrophoresis with ultraviolet (UV) detection. It was found that when β-CD was used as running buffer modifier, a baseline separation of the four analytes could be accomplished in less than 20 min and the detection limits were as low as 10⁻³ mg L⁻¹. Other factors affecting the CE separation, such as working potential, pH value and ionic strength of running buffer, separation voltage, and sample injection time, were investigated extensively. Under the optimal conditions, a successful practical application on the determination of Lr and Cistanche samples confirmed the validity and practicability of this method.