Eletrodeposited nickel oxide on a film of carbon nanotubes for monitoring nitric oxide release from rat kidney and drug samples

Nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO-NPs) were electrodeposited on a film of multi-walled carbon nanotubes to improve the electro-oxidation of nitric oxide (NO). The resulting sensor film exhibits excellent electrocatalytic activity towards NO and was used for the construction of an amperometric sensor for NO that was applied to monitoring the release of NO from sodium nitroprusside in rat kidney. Key operational parameters such as the conditions for deposition, kind of electrolyte and pH value were optimized. The nano-structured sensor possesses numerous active sites for oxidation of NO and thus exhibits good performance including wide linearity, simple operation, and good stability. The response to NO is linear in the concentration range from 80.0 nmol.L-1 to 0.117 mmol.L-1, the limit of detection is 20.0 n mol.L-1. The sensor was developed for real-time monitoring of NO.