Highly sensitive electrochemical sensing of 6-gingerol in ginger using AuNPs-ZnO-rGO nanocomposites modified electrode

Herein, a fast, inexpensive, and sensitive electrochemical approach for the quantification of 6-gingerol in the ginger samples was established. Au nanoparticles-ZnO-reduced graphene oxide (AuNPs-ZnO-rGO) nanocomposites were fabricated and employed as electrode-modified materials to improve the sensitivity of the determination. UV–visible (UV–vis), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) characterization elucidated the successful fabrication of AuNPs-ZnO-rGO nanocomposites. Voltammetry investigation demonstrated the excellent electrocatalytic activity of AuNPs-ZnO-rGO nanocomposites toward the redox reaction of 6-gingerol. Using the best experimental conditions (pH: 2.0 BR; the amount of AuNPs-ZnO-rGO suspension: 6 μL; accumulation time: 120 s), the linearity of the peak currents relied on the concentration of 6-gingerol from 0.1 to 100 μM with a detection limit of 0.03 μM (S/N = 3). The developed approach was successfully implemented for the quantification of 6-gingerol in ginger samples, with recoveries of 99.07‒102.1%.