Amperometric determination of penicillin G antibiotic in feed samples

Metal oxide has been raising increasing interest [1]. In this work, the use of a carbon electrode as a porous surface for electrochemical formation of cobalt oxide nanostructure has been reported. Electrodeposited cobalt oxide nanostructure was prepared by consecutive cyclic voltammetry (CV) as a simple, remarkably fast and scalable potentiodynamic method. The electrochemical and electrocatalytic properties of prepared nanostructures can be controlled through applying different potential windows in electrodeposition process. The resulting electrode surface and its morphology were examined with both cyclic voltammetry and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. Novel cobalt oxide nanoparticles based sensor for the detection of penicillin G in aqueous solution has been developed. The modified electrode showed excellent catalytic activity toward penicillin G oxidation at wide pH range, 5-11. The response to penicillin G on modified electrode was examined using cyclic voltammetry. The electrode response due to the electrocatalytic oxidation of penicillin G is proportional to the concentration of it over a 0.5–9 mM range with an associated detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.08 mM. In addition the interference effect of various reducing compounds for signal response of penicillin G is negligible. The immobilization of cobalt oxide nanoparticles on the surface of carbon electrode appears to be a highly efficient method for the development of a new class of sensitive, stable and reproducible penicillin G electrochemical sensor.