Determination of choline and derivatives with a solid-contact ion-selective electrode based on octaamide cavitand and carbon nanotubes

A new solid-contact ion-selective electrode has been developed for determining choline and derivatives in aqueous solutions. The backbone of this new potentiometric sensor is the conjunction of the cavitand receptor, as the molecular recognition element, and a network of non-carboxylated single-walled carbon nanotubes, acting as a solid transducer material. The octaamide cavitand, a synthetic receptor that is highly selective for biologically important trimethyl alkylammonium cations such as choline, acetylcholine or carnitine, makes the selective determination of these compounds possible for the first time. The guest-host interaction takes place in the acrylate ion-selective membrane of the solid-contact electrode. The sensor was characterized by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy. The new electrode displays a nearly Nernstian slope (57.3 +/- 1.0 mV/decade) and very stable behaviour (Delta E/Delta t = 224 mu V h(-1)) throughout the dynamic range (10(-5) to 10(-1) M). The limit of detection of 10(-6.4) M and the high selectivities obtained will enable choline and derivatives to be determined in biological samples. Finally, the stability of the electrical potential of the new solid-contact electrode was examined by performing current-reversal chronopotentiometry and the influence of the interfacial water film was evaluated by the potentiometric water layer test. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.