We demonstrate the electrochemical pretreatment of carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFEs) based on the sinusoidal-wave potential cycling (50 Hz) of CFEs prior to amperometric analysis. The surface modification and morphology of CFEs after pretreatment was studied using Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy.
The pretreated CFEs were extensively tested for sensing of bioactive compounds (dopamine, nitric oxide, ascorbate and nitrite) by constant current amperometry at 830 mV vs. Ag/AgCl.