Electropolymerization of Metallo-Octaethylporphyrins: A Study to Explore Their Sensing Capabilities

The electropolymerization of metallo-octaethylporphyrins (OEP) containing copper, zinc or nickel metal were performed using cyclic voltammetry at three different potential ranges. The electropolymerized porphyrins were characterized by UV-Vis and Raman spectroscopies and the Soret band (393–445 nm) and Raman bands were used to assess the degree of electropolymerization obtained. The application for an analytical use of the modified electrodes to determine phenobarbital in aqueous solution was evaluated. The electropolymerized CuOEP produced at potentials ranging from 0.0 to 2.2 V was the best performer with a limit of detection (LoD) of 10 mg L(−1) (43.07 µM), a linear range of 10–150 mg L(−1) (43.07 to 646 µM), an average precision of 4.3% (%RSD) and an average % recovery of 101.34%. These results indicate that the CuOEP-modified electrode is suitable for the analysis of phenobarbital in human samples, as the concentration range varies from 10 to 40 mg L(−1) (43.07 to 172.27 µM), typically found in antiepileptic treatments, to those at the toxic level (172–258 µM) or lethal levels (345–650 µM).