Colloidal-gold cysteamine-modified carbon paste electrodes as suitable electrode materials for the electrochemical determination of sulphur-containing compounds: Application to the determination of methionine

Abstract The suitability of colloidal-gold cysteamine-modified carbon paste electrodes (nAu-Cyst-CPE) for the electrochemical determination of sulphur-containing compounds is illustrated in this work by determining the amino acid methionine in real samples, as well as a methionine-based peptide. Voltammograms from methionine solutions at nAu-Cyst-CPE exhibited improved electroanalytical characteristics when compared with colloidal-gold cysteamine-modified Au disk electrodes (nAu-Cyst-AuE). Differential pulse voltammetry in phosphate buffer of pH 7.0 was used for the determination of methionine, with a range of linearity of (1.0–100) × 10 −6  mol l −1 and a detection limit of 5.9 × 10 −7  mol l −1 . This detection limit is remarkably lower than those reported previously using other modified electrodes or amperometric detection. Methionine peptides also exhibited anodic peaks suitable to detect this kind of molecules. Methionine was determined with good results in a pharmaceutical product containing several vitamins, amino acids and other compounds, and in spiked meat peptone, a complex sample containing enzimatically digested protein.