2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium ion encapsulated into zeolite Y as a selective electrode for the electrochemical determination of dopamine in the presence of ascorbic acid

2,4,6-Triphenylpyrylium ion immobilized inside the supercages of zeolite Y enhances by 1-2 orders of magnitude the response of electrochemical oxidation of dopamine in neutral aqueous media accompanied by a remarkable inhibition of post-electron-transfer reactions. The negative charge of the zeolite framework in which the 2,4,6-triphenylpyrylium ion is incorporated blocks the electrochemical oxidation of the negative ascorbate ion, enabling the determination of micromolar concentrations of dopamine in the presence of a large excess (10(3)-10(4) times) of ascorbate in phosphate buffer (pH 7.4). Under optimized conditions, linear calibration plots were obtained for a differential pulse detection mode over the range 250-1 microM dopamine with a sensitivity of 62 nA/microM and a detection limit (S/N = 3) of 0.2 microM in the presence of 1.0 mM ascorbate.