Gold nanoparticles-decorated graphynes for electrochemical detection of vitexin

Abstract

Vitexin is an important bioactive flavonoid with superior pharmacological value. Herein, by preparing graphynes decorated with gold nanoparticles (Au/GDY) as electrode material via a facile electroless deposition method, a sensitive electrochemical sensor was proposed to detect vitexin for the first time based on Au/GDY hybrid modified glassy carbon electrode (Au/GDY/GCE). The Au/GDY hybrid nanomaterial could capitalize on the synergistic effects of (i) GDY's π-electron-rich structure which is beneficial to enhance the target affinity through π-π stacking, and (ii) Au' dual functionality as conductivity boosters and catalytic activators. The related electrochemical evaluations revealed that the as-proposed Au/GDY/GCE exhibits much superior sensing performances compared to GDY/GCE and bare GCE for vitexin, achieving a broad linear range (0.05 – 4.0 μM) and a low detection limit (15.0 nM). In addition, the as-designed sensor also demonstrated exceptional reproducibility, long-term stability and selectivity for vitexin detection, showing significant potential application.