A review on electrochemical detection of serotonin based on surface modified electrodes

Serotonin is one of the important neurotransmitters of our body. It’s abnormal concentration is associated with multiple disorders and diseases. Sensitive and precise electrochemical determination of serotonin is not possible with bare working electrodes due to various reasons viz. electro-chemical fouling, presence of other biological molecules having similar oxidation potential, and lower concentration of serotonin in biological samples. Surface modification of working electrode is required for fast, precise, selective, and sensitive detection of serotonin. We have extensively reviewed the research approaches where serotonin has been sensitively detected using surface modified electrodes in the presence of other interfering agents. This review aims at presenting the electrochemical detection of serotonin using various surface modified electrodes such as glassy carbon, graphite, carbon fiber, diamond, screen printed, ITO, and metal electrodes modified with conducting polymers and polyelectrolytes, carbon nanomaterials, metal or metal oxide nanoparticles, biological compounds, and other conducting materials. The analytical figures of merits of various research approaches for detection of serotonin have been compared in the article. The properties of material used for surface modification, chemical interactions at the interfaces, and electrocatalytic effects of modified surfaces on sensing of serotonin have been thoroughly discussed in this review. •This review is focused on electrochemical detection of ST using surface modified electrodes.•SME based on conducting polymers and polyelectrolytes, nanomaterials, and other conducting materials are presented.•Analytical figures of merits of various research approaches are compared.•Chemical interactions at the interfaces and electrocatalytic effects of modified surfaces are also discussed.