Sensor for fisetin based on gold nanoparticles in ionic liquid and binuclear nickel complex immobilized in silica

Gold nanoparticles dispersed in an ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (Au-BMI.PF(6)) and a binuclear nickel(II) complex ([Ni(2)(HBPPAMFF)mu-(OAc)(2)(H(2)O)]BPh(4)) immobilized on functionalized silica were successfully applied in the construction of a novel sensor for the determination of fisetin by square-wave voltammetry. Under optimized conditions, the analytical curve showed two linear ranges for fisetin concentrations from 0.28 to 1.39 microM and 2.77 to 19.50 microM with a detection limit of 0.05 microM. This sensor demonstrated suitable stability (ca. 150 days; at least 500 determinations) and good repeatability and reproducibility, with relative standard deviations of 2.91 and 5.11%, respectively. The recovery study of fisetin in apple juice samples gave values from 96.4 to 106.4%. The efficient analytical performance of the proposed sensor can be attributed to the effective immobilization of the Ni(ii)Ni(ii) complex on silica and the Au-BMI.PF(6) contribution to the electrode response.