Fullerene C60 modified gold electrode and nanogold modified indium tin oxide electrode for prednisolone determination.

The electrochemical determination of prednisolone has been investigated at fullerene-C(60)-modified gold (C(60)/Au) electrode and gold nanoparticles modified indium tin oxide (nano Au/ITO) electrode in phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH 7.2. During oxidation of prednisolone, an anodic peak with peak potential (E(p)) at 570 mV and 400 mV appeared at nano Au/ITO and C(60)/Au electrode, respectively. The experimental results revealed that gold nanoparticles as well as fullerene (C(60)) promote the rate of prednisolone oxidation by increasing the peak current (i(p)) and oxidizing at lower peak potentials as compared to the respective bare electrodes due to their electrocatalytic effect. The linear concentration range at both the electrodes was in the range of 1 microM to 0.10 mM. The detection limit obtained at C(60)/Au electrode was 26 nM, while at nano Au/ITO electrode the detection limit was 90 nM. The applicability of the method to direct assays of human urine and whole blood sample is described to use the method for testing cases of doping by athletes.