The voltammetric outcome of the blood serum is significantly influenced by several factors, including the type of working electrode, the pH of the buffer, the accumulation time, the potential applied prior to the voltammetric scan, and the type of voltammetric technique. The role of the electrode type is demonstrated in Fig. 1A, which displays the typical net SW voltammetric results obtained with Pt, GCE, PIGE, BPGE, and EPGE electrodes. Except for EPGE, all electrodes produced only a barely measurable voltammetric response from the serum sample of a healthy individual. However, EPGE showed a superior voltammetric profile with three typical net SW voltammetric peaks located near 0.250 V (I), 0.400 V (II), and 0.720 V (III) (refer to Fig. 1A). The intensity of process (II) is frequently very weak, while process (I) dominates in all serum samples.
In comparison, the morphology of the voltammetric profile under cyclic voltammetry (CV) conditions is less favorable when compared to square wave voltammetry (SWV) (Fig. 1B). A typical cyclic voltammogram reveals two irreversible processes, namely processes (I) and (III). Additionally, repetitive cycling of the potential significantly reduces the intensity of the response. Specifically, in the second potential scan, the anodic voltammetric peaks are barely visible, indicating electrode surface fouling [33]. Under SWV conditions, due to the speed of the technique, the blocking of the electrode surface is less significant. Nevertheless, it is important to thoroughly clean the electrode surface before each voltammetric scan, as described in the experimental section. Another notable difference from CV is the electrochemical reversibility of the electrode processes; under SWV conditions, all three electrode processes appear to be chemically reversible and electrochemically quasi-reversible, with well-developed forward (anodic) and backward (cathodic) SW voltammetric components, as shown in the inset of Fig. 1A.
By comparing the typical net SW voltammograms of different serum samples, it becomes evident that the voltammetric response is highly sensitive to the composition of the serum (Fig. 2A). The curve labelled as (1) in Fig. 2A corresponds to the serum with the highest UA content (c [UA] = 1046 µmol/L) among the other samples. The intensity of peak (I) is directly correlated with the UA concentration, as demonstrated in the inset of Fig. 2A. Additionally, the intensity of peak (I) depends significantly on the accumulation time, which suggests a surface electrode mechanism (Fig. 2B). The net peak-current of process (I) follows an isotherm-like relationship with the accumulation time, as shown in the inset of Fig. 2B. UA effectively adsorbs on the electrode surface, competing with other surface-active components in the complex serum sample.
Under the conditions of Fig. 2B, with UA concentration of 31.4 µmol/L in the voltammetric cell, the electrode becomes saturated with adsorbed UA after about 30 seconds. Importantly, during the accumulation process, the response remains well-defined, with a constant peak potential and half-peak width (refer to Fig. 2B). As demonstrated in Fig. 2C, adding a standard solution of UA to the supporting electrolyte that contains a serum sample clearly increases the response of peak (I), confirming the correct assignment of the voltammetric peak to the electrode reaction of UA.
Further examination of electrode reaction (I) was conducted by exploring the impact of the square-wave frequency and by closely observing the progression of all three voltammetric components in the square-wave voltammograms. It is important to note that a clear response can be obtained from any serum sample using a moderate square-wave frequency (f), typically below 250 Hz. At higher frequencies, however, the response is poorly defined, with hardly measurable voltammetric parameters, most likely due to complex adsorption phenomena that greatly affect charging and background currents, slow electron transfer at the electrode-electrolyte interface, and uncompensated resistance, all of which significantly impact surface electrode processes at higher square-wave frequencies [34]. Nonetheless, for f ≤ 250 Hz, the evolution of the voltammetric profiles aligns well with theoretical predictions for a quasireversible surface electrode reaction, despite the complexity of the medium. Specifically, the net peak-current of process (I) increases non-linearly with f, while the frequency-normalized net peak-current (Inet,p/f) follows a parabolic relationship with log(f), resulting in the well-known characteristic of a "quasi-reversible maximum" (Fig. 3A) [4]. The critical frequency value related to the maximum position reflects the electrochemical standard rate constant, which is close to 150 s− 1.
A close examination of the relationship between the forward (oxidative) and backward (reductive) components of the SW voltammetric response for various frequencies provides further insight into the mechanism of the electrochemical oxidation of UA. The SW voltammograms shown in Fig. 3B indicate that the intensity of the backward (reductive) components increases relative to the forward (oxidative) components with increasing frequency. The plot of the peak-current ratio of the forward and backward components (If,p/Ib,p) in Fig. 3C reveals that the ratio decreases almost exponentially as the frequency increases. At a frequency of 150 Hz, the ratio is close to 1 and the intensities of the forward and backward components are nearly equal. This voltammetric behavior suggests that the oxidation of UA follows an EC reaction scheme, where the initial electron transfer reaction (E) is followed by a chemical reaction (C) that produces a redox-inactive product [35].
Our further attention was focused on process (II), which typically exhibits low intensity in voltammograms of healthy individuals' serum samples. Figure 4A presents characteristic voltammograms of serum samples with elevated BR content. Panel A refers to a sample containing 3.9 µmol/L in the voltammetric cell (curve 1). The peak II becomes measurable after a 90 s accumulation at the initial potential without any steering to the solution. Upon the addition of 1.2 µmol/L standard BR solution, the peak II clearly increases, confirming that process II is associated with the electrode reaction of BR (curve 2). The intensity of process II is also clearly visible in another serum sample containing a very high concentration of BR, as shown in the inset of Fig. 4A. With such a high concentration of BR, the response of UA is greatly reduced (peak I in the inset of Fig. 4A), indicating that competitive adsorption between UA and BR (and likely other species in the serum sample) plays a significant role in shaping the overall voltammetric response. To study this competitive adsorption further, we analyzed a serum sample containing elevated concentrations of both UA and BR (Fig. 4B). When both components are present at comparable concentrations (i.e., c(UA) = 11.38 µmol/L and c(BR) = 53.9 µmol/L), both characteristic peaks I and II increase concurrently with the accumulation time. However, the adsorption of UA is more effective and produces a larger net peak-current at lower concentrations compared to BR.
Our attention was drawn to the voltammetric peak III, which showed the most complex behavior among peaks I and II. This peak appeared in all serum samples and was highly sensitive to both the accumulation time and the concentration of serum in the electrolyte solution. The results in Fig. 5A indicate that the peak III increased upon the addition of bovine serum albumin (BSA) standard solution. Typically, increasing the accumulation time and the concentration of albumin in the sample caused the overall SW net voltammogram to shift towards lower absolute currents, implying that BSA adsorption was a critical factor in the overall background current [36, 37]. By conducting experiments with BSA only, we confirmed that peak III corresponded to the electrode reaction of BSA. The broad net SW peak at approximately 720 mV is a result of a slow, quasi-reversible electrode reaction, which is consistent with the data in Fig. 1A (as seen in the inset of Fig. 1A). The intensity of the net peak was dependent on both the BSA concentration and the accumulation time. The inset of Fig. 5B shows the dependence of the net peak-current on the BSA concentration, highlighting the adsorption characteristics of BSA and the saturation of the electrode at concentrations above 500 mg/L.