Determination of melamine in food contact materials using an electrode modified with gold nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide

We describe an electrochemical sensor for melamine based on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with reduced graphene oxide that was decorated with gold nanoparticles (AuNP/rGO). The AuNPs/rGO nanocomposite was synthesized by co-reduction of Au(III) and graphene oxide and characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The response of the modified GCE to melamine was investigated by using hexacyanoferrate as an electrochemical reporter. It is found that the electrochemical response to hexacyanoferrate is increasingly suppressed by increasing concentration of melamine. This is attributed to competitive adsorption of melamine at the AuNP/rGO composite through the interaction between the amino groups of melamine and the AuNPs. The presence of rGO, in turn, provides a platform for a more uniform distribution of the AuNPs and enhances the electron transfer rate of the redox reaction. The findings were used to develop a sensitive method for the determination of melamine. Under optimized conditions, the redox peak current of hexacyanoferrate at a working voltage of 171 mV (vs. SCE) is linearly related to the concentration of melamine in 5.0 to 50 nM range. The method was successfully applied to the determination of melamine in food contact materials.