Selective determination of cadmium and lead ions in different food samples by poly (riboflavin)/carbon black-modified glassy carbon electrode

[Display omitted] •Bi-PRF/CB/GCE was fabricated and used to determine metal ions for the first time.•The modified GCE shows satisfactory performance in the analysis of ions by DPASV.•Bi-PRF/CB/GCE performs well in terms of reproducibility and stability.•The modified electrode was used to detect Pb2+ and Cd2+ in different food samples.•A comparison of the electroanalytical method versus AAS was made for food samples. In this research, a poly (riboflavin)/carbon black-modified glassy carbon electrode (PRF/CB/GCE) is introduced as a novel electrochemical sensor toward Cd2+ and Pb2+ simultaneous measurement in presence of bismuth ions, applying differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry (DPASV). Regarding the optimized conditions, the linear ranges were achieved from 0.5 to 600 nM for Cd2+ and Pb2+. The detection limit (LOD) was found to be 0.16 nM for Cd2+ and 0.13 nM for Pb2+. In order to perform the technique in real application, the proposed electrode was used to simultaneously detect ions in rice, honey, and vegetable samples with satisfactory recoveries – indicating that the sensor possesses good practicability to determine Cd2+ and Pb2+. Moreover, an atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS) was used in order to detect the concentration of ions as a reference technique in rice, honey, and vegetable samples.