Voltammetric behavior of the genotoxic environmental pollutant 2-aminofluoren-9-one (2-AFN) was investigated using direct current voltammetry (DCV), differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) and adsorptive stripping differential pulse voltammetry (AdSDPV) at a mercury meniscus modified silver solid amalgam electrode (m-AgSAE). Optimum conditions were found for its DCV and DPV determination in a methanol?Britton?Robinson buffer pH 4.0 (1?:?9, v/v) medium (in a concentration range from 0.1 to 100 mu mol?L-1 of 2-AFN) and for its AdSDPV determination in a 0.2 mol?L-1 acetate buffer pH 4.0 medium (from 0.01 to 0.1 mu mol?L-1 of 2-AFN), with limits of quantification (LQs) of 0.2, 0.1 and 0.005 mu mol?L-1 for DCV, DPV and AdSDPV, respectively.
For comparison, the UV spectrophotometric (measured at 274 nm) and fluorimetric (measured at 460 nm, using the excitation wavelength of 314 nm) determination of 2-AFN were carried out in methanol, with LQs of 0.1 and 2 mu mol?L-1, respectively. Practical applicability of the newly developed voltammetric methods was verified on direct determination of 2-AFN in model samples of drinking and river water, with the lowest LQs in the range of 510 nmol?L-1.