Biocomposites of covalently linked glucose oxidase on carbon nanotubes for glucose biosensor

Optimized growth of dendritic Au nanostructures with multi-cross-linked glucose oxidase for highly catalytic activity of salivary glucose

We aim to develop a system that prominently features glucose oxidase (GOx) as the catalyst, integrated with a dendritic Au nanostructures electrode as the core component. The dendritic Au (DenAu) nanostructures are optimally electro-deposited on a flexible substrate without the use of any surfactant, template, or stabilizer, demonstrating their potential through highly sensitive flexible glucose sensor application. To determine the optimal condition for the growth of dendritic Au nanostructures, we meticulously investigated the concentration of the precursor, deposition potential/time, and stirring rate. Subsequently, the glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized on the fabricated sensor with dendritic Au nanostructures. Due to the effective high loading of GOx onto the dendritic Au and its high catalytic activity, the fabricated flexible glucose sensor was capable of detecting glucose over an ultra-wide dynamic range from 0.001 to 10,000 μM without any mediator. It exhibited an exceptionally high sensitivity of 678 μAmM-1 cm-2 and a low limit of detection of 0.1 μM, surpassing the performance of the sensor with bare Au. Furthermore, the fabricated flexible sensor with dendritic Au nanostructure showed practical feasibility and possibility for the detection of salivary glucose, which was evidenced by a strong correlation coefficient of 0.9935 in artificial saliva.

A Review on CNTs-Based Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: Unique Properties and Potential Applications

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs), are safe, biocompatible, bioactive, and biodegradable materials, and have sparked a lot of attention due to their unique characteristics in a variety of applications, including medical and dye industries, paper manufacturing and water purification. CNTs also have a strong film-forming potential, permitting them to be widely employed in constructing sensors and biosensors. This review concentrates on the application of CNT-based nanocomposites in the production of electrochemical sensors and biosensors. It emphasizes the synthesis and optimization of CNT-based sensors for a range of applications and outlines the benefits of using CNTs for biomolecule immobilization. In addition, the use of molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP)-CNTs in the production of electrochemical sensors is also discussed. The challenges faced by the current CNTs-based sensors, along with some the future perspectives and their future opportunities, are also briefly explained in this paper.

Multiphoton Lithography of Organic Semiconductor Devices for 3D Printing of Flexible Electronic Circuits, Biosensors, and Bioelectronics

In recent years, 3D printing of electronics have received growing attention due to their potential applications in emerging fields such as nanoelectronics and nanophotonics. Multiphoton lithography (MPL) is considered the state-of-the-art amongst the microfabrication techniques with true 3D fabrication capability owing to its excellent level of spatial and temporal control. Here, a homogenous and transparent photosensitive resin doped with an organic semiconductor material (OS), which is compatible with MPL process, is introduced to fabricate a variety of 3D OS composite microstructures (OSCMs) and microelectronic devices. Inclusion of 0.5 wt% OS in the resin enhances the electrical conductivity of the composite polymer about 10 orders of magnitude and compared to other MPL-based methods, the resultant OSCMs offer high specific electrical conductivity. As a model protein, laminin is incorporated into these OSCMs without a significant loss of activity. The OSCMs are biocompatible and support cell adhesion and growth. Glucose-oxidase-encapsulated OSCMs offer a highly sensitive glucose sensing platform with nearly tenfold higher sensitivity compared to previous glucose biosensors. In addition, this biosensor exhibits excellent specificity and high reproducibility. Overall, these results demonstrate the great potential of these novel MPL-fabricated OSCM devices for a wide range of applications from flexible bioelectronics/biosensors, to nanoelectronics and organ-on-a-chip devices.

Enhanced Performance of Bioelectrodes Made with Amination-Modified Glucose Oxidase Immobilized on Carboxyl-Functionalized Ordered Mesoporous Carbon

This research reveals the improved performance of bioelectrodes made with amination-modified glucose oxidase (GOx-NH2) and carboxyl-functionalized mesoporous carbon (OMC-COOH). Results showed that when applied with 10 mM EDC amination, the functional groups of NH2 were successfully added to GOx, according to the analysis of 1H-NMR, elemental composition, and FTIR spectra. Moreover, after the aminated modification, increased enzyme immobilization (124.01 ± 1.49 mg GOx-NH2/g OMC-COOH; 2.77-fold increase) and enzyme activity (1.17-fold increase) were achieved, compared with those of non-modified GOx. Electrochemical analysis showed that aminated modification enhanced the peak current intensity of Nafion/GOx-NH2/OMC-COOH (1.32-fold increase), with increases in the charge transfer coefficient α (0.54), the apparent electron transfer rate constant ks (2.54 s-1), and the surface coverage Γ (2.91 × 10-9 mol·cm-2). Results showed that GOx-NH2/OMC-COOH exhibited impressive electro-activity and a favorable anodic reaction.

Enhanced Electrochemical Characteristics of the Glucose Oxidase Bioelectrode Constructed by Carboxyl-Functionalized Mesoporous Carbon

This research revealed the effect of carboxyl-functionalization on the mesoporous carbon (MC)-fixed glucose oxidase (GOx) for promoting the properties of bioelectrodes. It showed that the oxidation time, temperature and concentration, can significantly affect MC carboxylation. The condition of 2 M ammonium persulfate, 50 °C and 24 h was applied in the study for the successful addition of carboxyl groups to MC, analyzed by FTIR. The nitrogen adsorption isotherms, and X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the carboxylation process slightly changed the physical properties of MC and that the specific surface area and pore size were all well-maintained in MC-COOH. Electrochemical characteristics analysis showed that Nafion/GOx/MC-COOH presented better electrocatalytic activity with greater peak current intensity (1.13-fold of oxidation peak current and 4.98-fold of reduction peak current) compared to Nafion/GOx/MC. Anodic charge-transfer coefficients (α) of GOx/MC-COOH increased to 0.77, implying the favored anodic reaction. Furthermore, the GOx immobilization and enzyme activity in MC-COOH increased 140.72% and 252.74%, leading to the enhanced electroactive GOx surface coverage of Nafion/GOx/MC-COOH electrode (22.92% higher, 1.29 × 10-8 mol cm-2) than the control electrode. Results showed that carboxyl functionalization could increase the amount and activity of immobilized GOx, thereby improving the electrode properties.

The use of isocyanide-based multicomponent reaction for covalent immobilization of Rhizomucor miehei lipase on multiwall carbon nanotubes and graphene nanosheets

One-pot immobilization of RML on carbon-based nanomaterials was performed by using the Ugi four component reaction under extremely mild conditions.

Enzyme Kinetics in Liquid Crystalline Mesophases: Size Matters, But Also Topology

Lyotropic liquid crystalline systems (LLCs) are excellent immobilizing carriers for enzymes, due to their biocompatibility and well-defined pore nanostructure. Here we show that the liquid crystalline mesophase topology can greatly influence the enzymatic activity in a typical peroxidase (Horseradish peroxidase, HRP) enzymatic reaction. Enzyme kinetics was investigated in different LLC mesophases based on monolinolein, with varying symmetries and dimensions such as the 1D cylindrical inverse hexagonal phase (HII), the 2D planar lamellar phase (Lα), and two 3D bicontinuous cubic phases of double diamond (Pn3m) and gyroid (Ia3d) space groups. As expected, the mesophase with largest water channel size shows highest activity, regardless of the topology. Interestingly, however, when mesophases with different topologies have the same water channel size, then the topology plays the dominant role, and the enzyme showed the highest activity in the 3D tetra-fold connected Pn3m, followed by the Ia3d with trifold connectivity, and finally the 1D HII phase. This study demonstrates that the enzymatic activity in LLC mesophases depends on both the water channel size and the topology of the mesophase.

Novel catalyst of zinc tetraamino-phthalocyanine supported by multi-walled carbon nanotubes with enhanced visible-light photocatalytic activity

Zinc tetraamino-phthalocyanine (ZnTAPc) supported by multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) hybrid materials were successfully fabricated by the method of chemical grafting and their photocatalysis behavior was reported.

Amperometric glucose biosensor based on layer-by-layer films of microperoxidase-11 and liposome-encapsulated glucose oxidase

An important step in several bioanalytical applications is the immobilization of biomolecules. Accordingly, this procedure must be carefully chosen to preserve their biological structure and fully explore their properties. For this purpose, we combined the versatility of the layer-by-layer (LbL) method for the immobilization of biomolecules with the protective behavior of liposome-encapsulated systems to fabricate a novel amperometric glucose biosensor. To obtain the biosensing unit, an LbL film of the H2O2 catalyst polypeptide microperoxidase-11 (MP-11) was assembled onto an indium-tin oxide (ITO) electrode followed by the deposition of a liposome-encapsulated glucose oxidase (GOx) layer. The biosensor response toward glucose detection showed a sensitivity of 0.91±0.09 (μA/cm2)/mM and a limit of detection (LOD) of 8.6±1.1 μM, demonstrating an improved performance compared to similar biosensors with a single phospholipid-liposome or even containing a non-encapsulated GOx layer. Finally, glucose detection was also performed in a zero-lactose milk sample to demonstrate the potential of the biosensor for food analysis.

Recent advances in polymeric materials used as electron mediators and immobilizing matrices in developing enzyme electrodes

Different classes of polymeric materials such as nanomaterials, sol-gel materials, conducting polymers, functional polymers and biomaterials have been used in the design of sensors and biosensors. Various methods have been used, for example from direct adsorption, covalent bonding, crossing-linking with glutaraldehyde on composites to mixing the enzymes or use of functionalized beads for the design of sensors and biosensors using these polymeric materials in recent years. It is widely acknowledged that analytical sensing at electrodes modified with polymeric materials results in low detection limits, high sensitivities, lower applied potential, good stability, efficient electron transfer and easier immobilization of enzymes on electrodes such that sensing and biosensing of environmental pollutants is made easier. However, there are a number of challenges to be addressed in order to fulfill the applications of polymeric based polymers such as cost and shortening the long laboratory synthetic pathways involved in sensor preparation. Furthermore, the toxicological effects on flora and fauna of some of these polymeric materials have not been well studied. Given these disadvantages, efforts are now geared towards introducing low cost biomaterials that can serve as alternatives for the development of novel electrochemical sensors and biosensors. This review highlights recent contributions in the development of the electrochemical sensors and biosensors based on different polymeric material. The synergistic action of some of these polymeric materials and nanocomposites imposed when combined on electrode during sensing is discussed.

Enzyme biosensor based on plasma-polymerized film-covered carbon nanotube layer grown directly on a flat substrate

We report a novel approach to fabrication of an amperometric biosensor with an enzyme, a plasma-polymerized film (PPF), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The CNTs were grown directly on an island-patterned Co/Ti/Cr layer on a glass substrate by microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The as-grown CNTs were subsequently treated by nitrogen plasma, which changed the surface from hydrophobic to hydrophilic in order to obtain an electrochemical contact between the CNTs and enzymes. A glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme was then adsorbed onto the CNT surface and directly treated with acetonitrile plasma to overcoat the GOx layer with a PPF. This fabrication process provides a robust design of CNT-based enzyme biosensor, because of all processes are dry except the procedure for enzyme immobilization. The main novelty of the present methodology lies in the PPF and/or plasma processes. The optimized glucose biosensor revealed a high sensitivity of 38 μA mM(-1) cm(-2), a broad linear dynamic range of 0.25-19 mM (correlation coefficient of 0.994), selectivity toward an interferent (ascorbic acid), and a fast response time of 7 s. The background current was much smaller in magnitude than the current due to 10 mM glucose response. The low limit of detection was 34 μM (S/N = 3). All results strongly suggest that a plasma-polymerized process can provide a new platform for CNT-based biosensor design.

Synthesis of graphene oxide-based biocomposites through diimide-activated amidation

In this work, a novel and facile method for covalent attachment of biomaterials to graphene oxide sheets (GOS) was developed. Four conjugates were obtained via the diimide-activated amidation reaction under ambient conditions. Final products were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Electrochemical characterization of the composite showed that the covalently bonded biomaterial retained its bioactivity. This method may provide a way for further preparation of graphene-based biodevices.

Purification, functionalization, and bioconjugation of carbon nanotubes

Bioconjugation of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with biomolecules promises exciting applications such as biosensing, nanobiocomposite formulation, design of drug vector systems, and probing protein interactions. Pristine CNTs, however, are virtually water-insoluble and difficult to evenly disperse in a liquid matrix. Therefore, it is necessary to attach molecules or functional groups to their sidewalls to enable bioconjugation. Both noncovalent and covalent procedures can be used to conjugate CNTs with a target biomolecule for a specific bioapplication. This chapter presents a few selected protocols that can be performed at any wet chemistry laboratory to purify and biofunctionalize CNTs. The preparation of CNTs modified with metallic nanoparticles, especially gold, is also described since biomolecules can bind and self-organize on the surfaces of such metal-decorated CNTs.

Biocatalytic nylon nanofibrous membranes

Nylon-6 nanofibrous membranes (NFM) have been prepared, characterized and used to build-up electrochemical biosensing devices. The assembly and the functioning of biocatalytic NFM are described in connection with the physical and the covalent immobilization of glucose oxidase for the detection of glucose. Effects of the enzyme loading, the mediator, the pH, the surface acidity and the kinetic of the catalysis have been thoroughly investigated. The results show that NFM allow the binding of proteins without the need for the hydrolysis step, in contrast to the nylon film. Furthermore, the high surface-to-volume ratio of the NFM allow superior loading of the enzyme with respect to thin film technology. The immobilization step does not affect the permeability of the coating to the mediator used. These results give evidence that NFM are a promising and inexpensive coating for a novel electrochemical transducer.

The Bioconjugation of Redox Proteins to Novel Electrode Materials

The immobilization of redox proteins on electrode surfaces has been crucial for understanding the fundamentals of electron transfer in biological systems and has led to the development of biosensors and other bioelectronic devices. Novel materials, such as carbon nanotubes, gold and other metallic nanoparticles, carbon nanofibre and mesoporous materials have been widely used in the construction of these bioelectrodes, and have been shown to greatly improve the efficiency of electron transfer between the electrode and the redox centre of the protein. The use of these materials has spawned a diversity of covalent and non-covalent techniques for protein immobilization that offer different advantages and disadvantages to the performance of the bioelectrode. This review covers the important properties of these novel electrode materials relevant to the bioconjugation of proteins, and discusses the various methods of attachment from recent examples in the literature.

Electrochemically-assisted deposition of oxidases on platinum nanoparticle/multi-walled carbon nanotube-modified electrodes

Platinum nanoparticles were electrodeposited by a multi-potential step technique onto a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) film pre-casted on a glassy carbon (GC) or boron-doped diamond (BDD) electrode. The MWCNT network consisted of Pt nanoparticles with an average diameter of 120 nm after an optimization of 36 deposition cycles. The resulting electrochemical sensors were capable of detecting hydrogen peroxide as low as 25 nM. Five different enzymes: glucose, lactate, glutamate, amino acid and xanthine oxidases, respectively, were deposited by a constant current technique for 5-10 min to form a stable and active biolayer for the analysis of their corresponding analytes. The glucose oxidase-based biosensor was linear up to 10 mM glucose with a detection limit of 250 nM and a response time of 5 s. Similar response times and detection limits were observed with glutamate, lactate, and amino acid oxidase despite the fact that the linear ranges were noticeably narrower. The mechanism of deposition was attributed to the decrease of local pH, created by oxygen evolution and effected enzyme precipitation.

One-step immobilization of glucose oxidase in a silica matrix on a Pt electrode by an electrochemically induced sol-gel process

We demonstrate here that the electrochemical generation of hydroxyl ions and hydrogen bubbles can be used to induce the synthesis of enzyme- or protein-encapsulated 3D porous silica structure on the surface of noble metal electrodes. In the present work, the one-step synthesis of a glucose oxidase (GOD)-encapsulated silica matrix on a platinum electrode is presented. In this process, glucose oxidase was mixed with ethanol and TEOS to form a doped precursory sol solution. The electrochemically generated hydrogen bubbles at negative potentials assisted the formation of the porous structure of a GOD-encapsulated silica gel, and then the one-step immobilization of enzyme into the silica matrix was achieved. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) characterizations showed that the GOD-encapsulated silica matrix adhered to the electrode surface effectively and had an interconnected porous structure. Because the pores started at the electrode surface, their sizes increased gradually along the distance away from the electrode and reached maximum at the solution side, and effective mass transport to the electrode surface could be achieved. The entrapped enzyme in the silica matrix retained its activity. The present glucose biosensor had a short response time of 2 s and showed a linear response to glucose from 0 to 10 mM with a correlation coefficient of 0.9932. The detection limit was estimated to be 0.01 mM at a signal-to-noise ratio of 3. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (K m app) and the maximum current density were determined to be 20.3 mM and 112.4 microA cm-2, respectively. The present method offers a facile way to fabricate biosensors and bioelectronic devices in situ.

High-sensitivity matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier transform mass spectrometry analyses of small carbohydrates and amino acids using oxidized carbon nanotubes prepared by chemical vapor deposition as matrix

In matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) Fourier transform mass spectrometry (FTMS) analyses of small oligosaccharides and amino acids, high sensitivities for oligosaccharides (10 fmol) were obtained by introducing oxidized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with short and open-end structure as valuable matrix. The CNTs were deposited in porous anodic alumina (PAA) templates by chemical vapor deposition. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images show that those CNTs include low levels of amorphous carbon. Thus, the background interference signals generally caused by amorphous carbon powder in CNTs can be reduced effectively. Experiments also confirmed that the FTMS signal intensity of CNTs prepared in PAA template is much lower than that of commercial multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MCNTs). Moreover, the purified process for CNTs with mixed acid (H2SO4 and HNO3) also contributed to the minimization of background. Intense signals corresponding to alkali cation adduct of neutral carbohydrates and amino acids have been acquired. In addition, reliable quantitative analyses for urine and corn root were also achieved successfully. The present work will open a new way to the application of oxidized CNTs as an effective matrix in MALDI MS research.