Electroactivity of Superoxide Anion in Aqueous Phosphate Buffers Analyzed with Platinized Microelectrodes

The reactivity of platinized ultramicroelectrodes (Pt-black UMEs) towards superoxide anion O2.−, an unstable Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), and its relatives, H2O2 and O2, was studied. Voltammetric studies in PBS demonstrate that Pt-black UMEs provide: i) a well-resolved reversible redox signature for O2.− detected in both alkaline and physiological buffers (pH 12 and 7.4); ii) irreversible oxidation and reduction waves for H2O2 at pH 7.4. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at Pt-black surfaces solely yields H2O2 (2 electrons/2 H+) at physiological pH. Consequently, Pt-black UMEs allow to sense different ROS including superoxide anion for future biomedical or physico-chemical investigations.