Voltammetric determination of florfenicol by using poly(3-methylthiophene) modified glassy carbon electrode

In this study, poly(3-methylthiophene) modified electrode as a voltammetric sensor was developed for the detection of florfenicol (FF). Firstly, for the modification of glassy carbon electrode (GCE), 3-methylthiophene (3-MTF) was polymerized in acetonitrile (AcN) containing tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate (TBATFB) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method. Then, in order to determine the florfenicol sensor property of 3-MTF modified GCE, parameters such as electrolyte type and electrolyte pH, scan rate, film thickness, pulse amplitude, and pulse width were investigated by using differential pulse voltammetry method (DPV). When the florfenicol responses of the modified electrode were compared to the unmodified GCE responses, it was found that the florfenicol selectivity, sensitivity, and response stability of the modified electrode were significantly increased. A linear calibration plot was obtained for florfenicol in the concentration range of 0.1–1.0 mM. From the linear calibration curve, the correlation coefficient (R value), determination limit (LOD), and quantitation limit (LOQ) were calculated as 0.999, 0.0399 mM, and 0.1197 mM, respectively. In addition, analytical application of the developed sensor for the determination of florfenicol was carried out in red and chicken meat samples. The recovery efficiency for red and chicken meat samples was obtained from 90.07 to 111.92% by using 3-MTF modified GCE. As a result, an electrochemical sensor was developed for the florfenicol detection which is fast, simple, low cost, 98.72% reproducible, stable, sensitive, and selective.