Electrochemical Treatment of Glassy Carbon for Label-Free Detection of DNA Bases and Neurotransmitters

Electrochemically reduced glassy carbon (r-GC) showed a superior electrochemical sensing performance, compared to oxidized GC (ox-GC) and untreated GC for the oxidation of 4 DNA bases and neurotransmitters (epinephrine, norepinephrine and serotonin). r-GC exhibited not only the largest current intensities of all redox biomolecules, but also displayed an excellent selectivity in detecting coexisting redox biomolecules. The enhanced performance of r-GC was attributed to the improved surface cleanliness of electrode and its catalytic surface functional groups. The results presented herein imply that simple electrochemical treatments are a viable method to produce sensitive and selective electrodes for label-free biosensing.