Simultaneous Determination of Adenine and Guanine Using Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots-Graphene Oxide Nanocomposite Modified Electrode.

A novel electrochemical sensor was fabricated by immobilizing Cadmium Selenide Quantum Dots (CdSe QDs)-Graphene Oxide (GO) nanocomposite on a paraffin wax impregnated graphite electrode (PIGE) and was used for the simultaneous determination of adenine and guanine. The CdSe QDs-GO nanocomposite was prepared by ultrasonication and was characterized with spectroscopic and microscopic techniques. The nanocomposite modified electrode was characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The modified electrode showed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidative determination of adenine and guanine with a good peak separation of 0.31 V. This may be due to the high surface area and fast electron transfer kinetics of the nanocomposite. The modified electrode exhibited wide linear ranges from 0.167 μM to 245 μM for Guanine and 0.083 μM to 291 μM for Adenine with detection limits of 0.055 μM Guanine and 0.028 μM of Adenine (S/N = 3) respectively. Further, the modified electrode was used for the quantitative determination of adenine and guanine in herring sperm DNA with satisfactory results. The modified electrode showed acceptable selectivity, reproducibility and stability under optimal conditions.