Due to their electrochemical and economical characteristics, pencil graphite electrodes (PGEs) gained in recent years a large applicability to the analysis of various types of inorganic and organic compounds from very different matrices. The electrode material of this type of working electrodes is constituted by the well-known and easy commercially available graphite pencil leads. Thus, PGEs are cheap and user-friendly and can be employed as disposable electrodes avoiding the time-consuming step of solid electrodes surface cleaning between measurements. When compared to other working electrodes PGEs present lower background currents, higher sensitivity, good reproducibility, and an adjustable electroactive surface area, permitting the analysis of low concentrations and small sample volumes without any deposition/preconcentration step. Therefore, this paper presents a detailed overview of the PGEs characteristics, designs and applications of bare, and electrochemically pretreated and chemically modified PGEs along with the corresponding performance characteristics like linear range and detection limit. Techniques used for bare or modified PGEs surface characterization are also reviewed.

The even growing production of both well-known and new derivatives with pharmaceutical action involves the need for developing facile and reliable methods for the analysis of these compounds. Among the widely used instrumental techniques, the electrochemical ones are probably the simplest and the most rapid, also having good performance characteristics. However, the key tool in electroanalysis is the working electrode. Due to the inherent electrochemical and economic advantages of the pencil graphite electrode (PGE), the interest in its applicability in the analysis of different analytes has continuously increased in recent years. Thus, this paper aims to review the scientific reports published in the last 10 years on the use of the disposable eco- and user-friendly PGEs in the electroanalysis of compounds of pharmaceutical importance in different matrices. The PGE characteristics and designs (bare or modified with various types of materials), along with their applications and performance parameters (e.g., linear range, limit of detection, and reproducibility), will be discussed, and their advantages and limitations will be critically emphasized.

A disposable, cheap and easily available pencil graphite electrode (PGE) was used to develop, for the first time, a rapid voltammetric method for chlorogenic acid (CGA) determination. Cyclic voltammograms emphasised a quasi-reversible, diffusion controlled and pH dependent electrode process. Differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) applied to the anodic peak was used for the quantitative determination of CGA. The linear range, the limit of detection and the limit of quantification were 1 × 10⁻⁷ to 5 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ CGA, 7.14 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹ CGA and 2.1 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ CGA, respectively, being similar to or even better than those reported in the literature. The developed DPV on PGE method was applied with good results to the quantitative determination of CGA in commercially available green coffee extract based dietary supplements. The results compared well with those obtained by the Folin–Ciocalteu method, a fact proved by the statistical analysis.