Protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) was immobilized on Au surfaces for the electrochemical oxidation of dopamine (DA) and epinephrine (EP). Two procedures for the immobilization were employed. One class of modified electrodes was prepared by immobilizing the PPIX into polypyrrole (PPy) films synthesized by anodic electropolymerization. The other procedure involved the immobilization of PPIX on an electrode modified by a 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) self-assembled monolayer (SAM). The modified surfaces were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV). The efficiency of these modified surfaces for the electrochemical oxidation of DA and EP was investigated and compared. The peak potential for the oxidation of each analyte at the different electrode surfaces was determined by square-wave voltammetry (SWV). The dependence of the sensitivity of the electrodes for the detection of the catecholamines on the applied potential was also measured. The SAM-based electrodes showed better selectivity for detecting DA in the potential range between 0.2 and 0.4 V versus Pt(QRE). However, higher sensitivity and linearity were observed for the film-based electrodes. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.