Electrochemical determination of berberine at a multi-walled carbon nanotubes-modified glassy carbon electrode

An electrochemical method was developed for voltammetric determination of berberine, an alkaloid of pharmacological interest, using a glassy carbon electrode modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The modified electrode exhibited higher electrocatalytic activity toward the oxidation of berberine than the bare glassy carbon electrode. After optimizing the experimental conditions and square wave voltammetry parameters a linear current response toward berberine was obtained in the 0.25–30 μM range with a detection limit (3σ, n = 10) of 0.14 μM. The proposed procedure was successfully applied to determine total berberine in Argemone mexicana seed sample with good recovery.Financial support was from the Spanish MINECO (Project CTQ2009-12649). A.G. acknowledges Addis Ababa University SIDA/SAREC project for sponsoring the travel and accommodation costs for his research stay at ICP. M.P. acknowledges the Ramon y Cajal 2009 program from the Spanish MINECO.Peer reviewe