Prof.  Masoumeh  Ghalkhani
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University,  Iran

Title: Development of high sensitive sensors based on ZnO and CuO nanostructures for dopamine analysis

Abstract:

Dopamine (DA) is a very important brain’s neurotransmitter that its abnormal levels causes neurological problems such as schizophrenia and Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, DA concentration in our body biological fluid should be kept in a desirable level. Development of highly sensitive and selective sensors for accurate and precise determination of DA in complex matrixes such as biological samples is essential. In present study, the nanostructures of non-precious metal oxides such as ZnO and CuO alone or doped with some transition metals were synthesized based on green procedures. The synthesized nanostructures were characterized by the scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy dispersive X-rays spectroscopy (EDX), and X-ray diffraction analysis. Then, modified electrodes were prepared using synthesized nano-materials and were employed for development of efficient DA sensors. The effective parameters influencing sensors performance were evaluated and optimized. The mechanism of the DA redox reaction was studied by diverse voltammetric techniques. Finally, the determination performance of the prepared sensors were evaluated for which detection range and limit of detection (LOD) was determined. A wide detection range of 0.1-20 μM and very low LOD of 55 nM with high sensitivity of 2630 nA/μM was resulted for the Cu doped zinc oxide nanostructures-based sensor. Furthermore, long term stability, acceptable reproducibility and repeatability were outstanding properties of developed sensor which reveals its suitability for real sample analysis.

Keywords: Transition metals, Metal oxide, Voltammetry, Sensor, Electrochemical, Dopamine

Acknowledgements
The author gratefully acknowledge the support of this work by the Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran.

Biography:

Dr. Masoumeh Ghalkhani received her Ph.D. degree in 2010 from Sharif University of Technology (SUT), Iran, with specialization in the preparation and application of chemically modified electrodes. She was a visiting researcher in Prof. Ana Maria Oliveira-Brett 's research group at the University of Coimbra in the period of 2009-2010. At present, she is Associate Professor of chemistry at Shahid Rajaee Teacher Training University, Tehran, Iran. Her current research interests include chemistry education, synthesis of nanomaterials and their application for electro-analytical chemistry, electro-chemical catalysis, fuel cells, supercapacitors, and sensors, mainly focused on fabrication and application of modified electrodes and biosensors.