Electrochemical Determination of Capsaicin and Silymarin Using a Glassy Carbon Electrode Modified by Gold Nanoparticle Decorated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Abstract

The goal of this study was to develop a suitable electroanalytical method for the determination of primary compounds in the extracts of capsaicin and silymarin. For this purpose, a glassy carbon electrode immobilized with multiwalled carbon nanotubes decorated with gold nanoparticles was characterized by high resolution transmission electron microscopy and attenuated total reflectance infrared spectroscopy. The developed electrochemical sensor had a linear dynamic range from 0.15 to 35.0 µM. In addition, the limits of quantification for silymarin and capsaicin with the gold nanoparticle decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes were 0.1564 and 0.2761 µg L−1 with relative standard deviations (n = 3) of 1.65% and 2.09% and equivalent mass percentages of 93.33% and 62.02%, respectively. The methodology may be employed for the determination of capsaicin and silymarin in pharmaceutical and food products.