Electrochemical determination of toxic ractopamine at an ordered mesoporous carbon modified electrode

A sensitive electrochemical sensor was developed to detect toxic ractopamine using ordered mesoporus carbon (OMC) modified glass carbon electrode (OMC/GCE). Cyclic voltammetry was used to investigate the electrochemical behaviours of ractopamine on OMC/GCE. The results indicated that the OMC modified electrode can remarkably enhance electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of ractopamine with a great increase of peak current. The oxidation mechanism was studied and the results showed that the oxidation of ractopamine involved two protons and two electrons of its two phenolic hydroxyl groups. The signal for the determination of ractopamine was recorded using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and the optimisation for the experimental conditions was also conducted. The results showed that the response of the sensor to concentration of ractopamine displayed a linear correlation over a range from 0.085 μM to 8.0 μM with a detection limit of 0.06 μM, demonstrating favourable sensitivity and selectivity for the detection of ractopamine. Finally, the method was successfully applied for the determination of ractopamine in pork samples with satisfying recoveries in the range of 96.6-104.5% and excellent RSD of less than 5%.