Electrochemistry as a screening method in determination of carotenoids in crustacean samples used in everyday diet

Electrochemistry of carotenoids has attracted a lot of interest because it provides an understanding of their oxidative properties. We report the application of electrochemistry in the analysis of carotenoids. Voltammetry of microdroplets immobilized on paraffin impregnated graphite electrode in 0.1 mol dm^-3 HClO₄ and KNO₃ aqueous electrolytes using square-wave voltammetry was applied. Previous studies have shown that carotenoids undergo complex oxidation process when characterized in aqueous media. In this research, the electrooxidation of carotenoid astaxanthin was confirmed. The obtained response allowed the development of an electroanalytical method with a limit of detection of 15.77 µmol dm^-3, the limit of quantification of 47.80 µmol dm^-3 and acceptable relative standard deviations for current (3.69%) and potential (0.41%). Extraction using DMSO and acetone has shown to be appropriate for voltammetric analysis. Astaxanthin content was determined electrochemically in shrimp and soft-shell crab samples (20.63 and 6.59 μg g^-1, respectively), yielding recoveries above 90%.