Electrochemical detection of riboflavin using tin-chitosan modified pencil graphite electrode

We here report a simple fabrication of tin incorporated chitosan polymer matrix coated pencil graphite electrode Sn/Cs/PGE for the electrochemical detection of riboflavin (RF). The tin incorporated chitosan polymer was prepared by mixing tin chloride in an aqueous acidic chitosan solution and the fabrication of Sn/Cs/PGE was done by simple immersion method for the first time. The surface characterization of the electrode sensor was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), scanning electron microscope (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and elemental mapping analysis. Electrochemical characterization was performed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) using 0.1 M KCl containing K3[Fe(CN)6]. These results revealed that the Sn/Cs/PGE shows a sensitive and fast electrocatalytic response towards the sensing of RF in physiological pH with a wide linear range (10 to 1200 nM) and low limit of detection (5.56 nM) compared to other electrodes. Moreover, the Sn/Cs/PGE possesses better stability with the anti-inference ability and the practical feasibility of the fabricated electrode shows satisfactory results towards the medicinal and food analysis.