1-Hydroxypyrene (1-OHP) is a ubiquitous metabolite of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and has been widely used as a biomarker for evaluation of human exposure to PAHs. In this paper, an electrochemical sensor consisted of graphene oxide nanoribbon (GON)/octa(3-aminopropyl)octasilae quioxane octahydrochloride (OA-POSS) framework films (GON/OA-POSS) modified electrode for pre-concentrating and sensing of 1-OHP was described. The GON/OA-POSS composite films were prepared by hierarchically layer-by-layer assembly via electrostatic interactions. CON, which has higher electrical conductivity than that of graphene oxide, offers residual pi-conjugated systems for adsorption of 1-OHP via pi-pi stacking interaction. Meanwhile, OA-POSS nanocages make the CON layers frameworked to enhance contacting between CON and 1-OHP. When 1-OHP was pre-concentrated on GON/OA-POSS frameworks modified electrode, the response signal and adsorption stability was enhanced significantly. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for direct determination of 1-OHP. The electrochemical sensor calibration curve had a range of 0.1-12.55 mu M (R = 0.995) with a detection limit of 0.04 mu M. The results showed that the GON/OA-POSS framework films modified electrode established a new way for simple and sensitive analysis of 1-OHP. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.