A SU-8/Pyrex single-channel microchip integrating three 100 μm Pt electrodes (MCE-ED) for class-selective electrochemical index determination (CSEID) of phenolic acids and flavonoids in complex extracts of Tagetes lucida (Tl), Mentha piperita (Mp), Cymbopogon citratus (Cc), Calendula officinalis (Co), and Cynara scolymus (Cs) is proposed. Under strategic conditions controlled by a MES buffer (pH 5.0; 25 mM) and accordingly to the antioxidant acid-base properties, the simultaneous measurement of total acids and flavonoids indexes was achieved in less than 100 s with excellent analytical performance. The reliability of MCE-ED approach was demonstrated toward the high agreement between the total phenolic content obtained using microchip approach with those obtained by the well-established HPLC-DAD; revealing both identical order regarding the total phenolic content in the target samples. In addition, further comparison of MCE-ED with the traditional Folin-Ciocalteu antioxidant capacity assay, showed that MCE-ED approach could become a class-selective antioxidant capacity assay revealing that the sample antioxidant capacity was decreasing as Tl > Mp > Cs > Cc > Co according to their endogenous polyphenol content. These results suggested that the microchip approach is not only a reliable method for fast assessment of class-selective antioxidants constituting a very good alternative to the long analysis times and the using of toxic solvents required in HPLC but a novel truly antioxidant capacity assay. This excellent analytical performance is connected with the key-features of the "ready-to-use" system employed in this work such as portability, full integration of electrochemical detection, easy-operation, and potential MCE-ED disposability.
Keywords: Class-selective electrochemical index; Electrochemical detection; Flavonoids; Microchip electrophoresis; Phenolic acids.
© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.