ZnO nanonails: synthesis and their application as glucose biosensor

Well-crystallized zinc oxide nanonails were grown in a high density by thermal evaporation process and were used as supporting matrixes for glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilization to construct efficient glucose biosensor. The GOx attached to the surfaces of ZnO nanonails had more spatial freedom in its orientation, which facilitated the direct electron transfer between the active sites of immobilized GOx and electrode surface. The fabricated biosensor showed a high sensitivity of 24.613 microA cm(-2) mM(-1) with a response time less than 10 s. Moreover, it shows a linear range from 0.1 to 7.1 mM with a correlation coefficient of R = 0.9937 and detection limit of 5 microM.     

Electrochemical biosensing platforms using platinum nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes

Platinum nanoparticles with a diameter of 2-3 nm were prepared and used in combination with single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) for fabricating electrochemical sensors with remarkably improved sensitivity toward hydrogen peroxide. Nafion, a perfluorosulfonated polymer, was used to solubilize SWCNTs and also displayed strong interactions with Pt nanoparticles to form a network that connected Pt nanoparticles to the electrode surface. TEM and AFM micrographs illustrated the deposition of Pt nanoparticles on carbon nanotubes whereas cyclic voltammetry confirmed an electrical contact through SWCNTs between Pt nanoparticles and the glassy carbon (GC) or carbon fiber backing. With glucose oxidase (GOx) as an enzyme model, we constructed a GC or carbon fiber microelectrode-based biosensor that responds even more sensitively to glucose than the GC/GOx electrode modified by Pt nanoparticles or CNTs alone. The response time and detection limit (S/N = 3) of this biosensor was determined to be 3 s and 0.5 microM, respectively.     

Multilayered assembly of dendrimers with enzymes on gold: thickness-controlled biosensing interface

A new approach to construct a multilayered enzyme film on the Au surface for use as a biosensing interface is described. The film was prepared by alternate layer-by-layer depositions of G4 poly(amidoamine) dendrimers and periodate-oxidized glucose oxidase (GOx). The cyclic voltammograms obtained from the Au electrodes modified with the GOx/dendrimer multilayers revealed that bioelectrocatalytic response is directly correlated to the number of deposited bilayers, that is, to the amount of active enzyme immobilized on the Au electrode surface. From the analysis of voltammetric signals, the coverage of active enzyme per GOx/dendrimer bilayer during the multilayer-forming steps was estimated, which demonstrates that the multilayer is constructed in a spatially ordered manner. Also, with the ellipsometric measurements, a linear increment of the film thickness was registered, supporting the formation of the proposed multilayered structure. The E5D5 electrode showed the sensitivity of 14.7 microA x mM(-1) glucose x cm(-2) and remained stable over 20 days under day-by-day calibrations. The proposed method is simple and would be applicable to the constructions of thickness- and sensitivity-controllable biosensing interfaces composed of multienzymes as well as a single enzyme.     

Integration of enzymes and electrodes: spectroscopic and electrochemical studies of chitosan-enzyme films

A new film-forming solution was developed for the efficient immobilization of enzymes on solid substrates. The solution consisted of a biopolymer, chitosan (CHIT), that was chemically modified with a permeability-controlling agent, Acetyl Yellow 9 (AY9), using glutaric dialdehyde (GDI) as a molecular tether. A model enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOx), was mixed with the CHIT-GDI-AY9 solution and cast on the surface of platinum electrodes to form robust CHIT-GDI-AY9-GOx films for glucose biosensing. UV-visible and infrared spectroscopies were used to determine the composition of the films. The optimized films contained on average 1 molecule of AY9/3 glucosamine units of chitosan and 25 free GDI tethers/1 molecule of GOx. The electrochemical assays of the films indicated both a very high efficiency of enzyme immobilization (approximately 99%) and large enzyme activity (60 units cm(-2)). The latter translated into a high sensitivity (42 mA M(-1) cm(-2)) of the Pt/CHIT-GDI-AY9-GOx biosensor toward glucose. The biosensor operated at 0.450 V, had a fast response time (t90% < or = 3 s), and was free of typical interferences, and its dynamic range covered 3 orders of magnitude of glucose concentrations. The lowest actually detectable concentration was 10 microM glucose. In addition, the biosensor displayed a practical shelf life and excellent operational stability, e.g. its response was stable during 24-h testing under continuous polarization and continuous flow of 5.0 mM glucose solution. The proposed approach to enzyme immobilization is simple, efficient, and cost-effective and should be of importance in the development of biosensors based on other enzymes that are more expensive than glucose oxidase.     

An amperometric fructose biosensor based on fructose dehydrogenase immobilized in a membrane mimetic layer on gold

A prototype amperometric fructose biosensor based on membrane-bound fructose dehydrogenase (Gluconobacter sp.) and the coenzyme ubiquinone-6 immobilized in a membrane mimetic layer on a gold electrode has been constructed and tested. A bare gold electrode first was modified through chemisorption of a mixture of octadecyl mercaptan and two short-chain disulfides, 3,3'-dithiodipropionic acid and cystamine dihydrochloride. The membrane-bound enzyme, coenzyme, and additional phospholipid were codeposited through a detergent dialysis protocol. The short-chain modifiers may provide electrostatic interactions with enzyme surface charges, while the alkanethiolate and phospholipids enable hydrophobic interaction with the largely lipophilic, membrane-bound enzyme. At oxidizing potentials, the enzyme electrode responded with catalytic current densities up to 45 μA/cm(2) when exposed to fructose at 10 mM. The sensor exhibited a response time of less than 20 s, a sensitivity of 15 μA/cm(2)·mM and a detection limit of less than 10 μM. Biosensor measurements of d-fructose in apple and orange juice agreed to within a few percent with those made with an enzymatic spectrophotometric assay. The membrane mimetic layer effectively blocked access of interfering ascorbic acid to the electrode surface. Only a 4% positive error was observed in the presence of ascorbic acid at 5% of the fructose concentration (2 mM), which indicates that this construct could be particularly useful for quantitation of fructose in citrus juice.     

Cross-linked redox gels containing glucose oxidase for amperometric biosensor applications

Oxidoreductases, such as glucose oxidase, can be electrically "wired" to electrodes by electrostatic complexing or by covalent binding of redox polymers so that the electrons flow from the enzyme, through the polymer, to the electrode. We describe two materials for amperometric biosensors based on a cross-linkable poly(vinylpyridine) complex of [Os-(bpy)2Cl]+2+ that communicates electrically with flavin adenine dinucleotide redox centers of enzymes such as glucose oxidase. The uncomplexed pyridines of the poly(vinylpyridine) are quaternized with two types of groups, one promoting hydrophilicity (2-bromoethanol or 3-bromopropionic acid), the other containing an active ester (N-hydroxysuccinimide) that forms amide bonds with both lysines on the enzyme surface and with an added polyamine cross-linking agent (triethylenetetraamine, trien). In the presence of glucose oxidase and trien this polymer forms rugged, cross-linked, electroactive films on the surface of electrodes, thereby eliminating the requirement for a membrane for containing the enzyme and redox couple. The glucose response time of the resulting electrodes is less than 10 s. The glucose response under N2 shows an apparent Michaelis constant, Km' = 7.3 mM, and limiting current densities, jmax, between 100 and 800 microA/cm2. Currents are decreased by 30-50% in air-saturated solutions because of competition between O2 and the Os(III) complex for electrons from the reduced enzyme. Rotating ring desk experiments in air-saturated solutions containing 10 mM glucose show that about 20% of the active enzyme is electrooxidized via the Os(III) complex, while the rest is oxidized by O2. These results suggest that only part of the active enzyme is in electrical contact with the electrode.     

Gold nanoparticle-polyaniline composite films for glucose sensing

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been self-assembled onto electrochemically deposited polyaniline (PANI) films on indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass plates to fabricate glucose biosensor. The covalent immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx) in the near vicinity of gold nanoparticles has been obtained using N-ethyl-N'-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC)/N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS), chemistry between amino groups of PANI and COOH groups of GOx. These AuNPs-PANI/ ITO and GOx/AuNPs-PANI/ITO composite films have been characterized using Fourier transform infra red (FTIR) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) techniques, respectively. The fast electron transfer from the modified PANI surface to electrode is indicated by the observed increase in amperometric response current of these GOx/AuNPs-PANI/ITO bioelectrodes. These GOx/AuNPs-PANI/ITO bioelectrodes exhibit response time of 10 s, linearity from 50 to 300 mg/dl and show value of apparent Michaelis-Menten constant (Km(app)) of 2.2 mM.     

Nitric oxide-releasing sol-gel particle/polyurethane glucose biosensors

A hybrid sol-gel/polyurethane glucose biosensor that releases nitric oxide is developed and characterized. The biosensor consists of a platinum electrode coated with four polymeric membranes including the following: (1) sol-gel with immobilized glucose oxidase (GOx); (2) polyurethane to protect the enzyme; (3) NO donor-modified sol-gel particle-doped polyurethane; and (4) polyurethane. This configuration was developed due to the drastic reduction in sensitivity observed for NO donor-modified sol-gel film-based glucose sensors. For the hybrid sol-gel/polyurethane biosensor, sol-gel particles are first modified with the NO donor and then incorporated into a polyurethane layer that is coated onto the preimmobilized GOx electrode. In this manner, the GOx layer is not exposed to the harsh conditions necessary to impart NO release ability to the biosensor, and only a minimal decrease in sensitivity due to the NO release is observed. The glucose response of the NO-releasing glucose biosensor and its NO generation profiles are reported. In addition, the stability of the sol-gel particles in the supporting polyurethane membrane is discussed.     

Fabrication of a glucose biosensor based on citric acid assisted cobalt ferrite magnetic nanoparticles

A novel and practical glucose biosensor was fabricated with immobilization of Glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme on the surface of citric acid (CA) assisted cobalt ferrite (CF) magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). This innovative sensor was constructed with glassy carbon electrode which is represented as (GOx)/CA-CF/(GCE). An explicit high negative zeta potential value (-22.4 mV at pH 7.0) was observed on the surface of CA-CF MNPs. Our sensor works on the principle of detection of H2O2 which is produced by the enzymatic oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid. This sensor has tremendous potential for application in glucose biosensing due to the higher sensitivity 2.5 microA/cm2-mM and substantial increment of the anodic peak current from 0.2 microA to 10.5 microA.     

Improvement of homogeneity of analytical biodevices by gene manipulation

Homogeneity is proposed for evaluation of the quality of analytical biodevices, such as biosensors and biochips. As a demonstration, glucose oxidase (GOx) was modified at its C-terminal with a linker peptide with a cysteine residue at the end. The fusion structure (GOx-linker-cysteine) enables the enzyme to immobilize on gold surfaces with a Cys-S-Au bond or to immobilize on a silanized glass surface via disulfide chemistry. With this fusion structure, the enzyme can be anchored onto the substrate with well-controlled orientation, thus forming a homogeneous biological layer on biodevices. The linker peptide between GOx and the cysteine acts as a spacer to reduce the steric hindrance caused by the bulky body of the enzyme. Biochemistry experiments showed that this genetically modified glucose oxidase (shortened to GOxm) retained most of its catalytic characteristics, with K(m) and K(cat) similar to those of the wild-type GOx. Electrochemistry experiments showed that GOxm-modified electrode gave higher and more stable current responses than the electrode modified with GOx which has no free -SH on its surface. The coefficients of variation (used for evaluation of the interchangeability of the enzyme device from the same batch preparation) were 9.5% for the GOxm gold electrode and 20.0% for the GOx gold electrode and the GOxm oxygen electrode. The relative errors (used for evaluation of the precision of the individual enzyme device) were 2.9% for the GOxm gold electrode, 12.0% for the GOx gold electrode, and 11.2% for the GOxm oxygen electrode. Atomic force microscopy images revealed that GOxm formed a self-assembled monolayer in a hexagonal-like lattice packing arrangement on the gold surface, while GOx formed multilayer assembling or aggregated particles. The homogeneity of the protein chips, the GOxm array that was prepared through -S-S- formation, and the GOx array that was prepared through nonspecific adsorption was evaluated. The coefficients of variation, calculated with the signal level of all dots, were 5.4% for the GOxm array and 81.8% for the GOx array. All experimental results pointed to the fact that the homogeneity of the analytical biodevices could be considerably improved by using the proposed method.     

Flexible carbon cloth electrode modified by hollow core-mesoporous shell carbon as a novel efficient bio-anode for biofuel cell

A new approach is described to produce an efficient electrode material for biofuel cells using flexible carbon cloth (FCC) and hollow core-mesoporous shell carbon (HCMSC) nanospheres as bio-anode materials. The bio-electrochemical activity of glucose oxidase (GOx) enzyme adsorbed on this bio-anode was evaluated, with the maximum anodic current density varying from 80 microA cm(-2) to 180 microA cm-2 for glucose concentrations up to 5.0 mmol L(-1) for the FCC modified electrode with HCMSCs. The open circuit cell voltage was E(0) = 380 mV, and the catalytic electro-oxidation current of glucose reached 0.1 mA cm(-2) at 0.0 V versus Ag/AgCl. This new system employing HCMSC-based FCC is promising toward novel bio-anodes for biofuel cells using glucose as a fuel.     

Spraying enzymes in microemulsions of AOT in nonpolar organic solvents for fabrication of enzyme electrodes

A new technique suitable for automated, large-scale fabrication of enzyme electrodes by air-spraying enzymes in organic inks is presented. Model oxidoreductases, tyrosinase (Tyr) and glucose oxidase (GOx), were adapted to octane-based ink by entrapment in a system of reverse micelles (RM) of surfactant AOT in octane to separate and stabilize the catalytically active forms of the enzymes in nonpolar organic media. Nonpolar caoutchouk polymer was also used to create a kind of "dry micelles" at the electrode/solution interface. Enzyme/RM/polymer-containing organic inks were air-brushed onto conductive supports and were subsequently covered by sprayed Nafion membranes. The air-brushed enzyme electrodes exhibited relevant bioelectrocatalytic activity toward catechol and glucose, with a linear detection range of 0.1-100 microM catechol and 0.5-7 mM glucose; the sensitivities were 2.41 A M(-1) cm(-2) and 2.98 mA M(-1) cm(-2) for Tyr and GOx electrodes, respectively. The proposed technique of air-brushing enzymes in organic inks enables automated construction of disposable enzyme electrodes of various designs on a mass-production scale.     

Following the biocatalytic activities of glucose oxidase by electrochemically cross-linked enzyme-Pt nanoparticles composite electrodes

An integrated platinum nanoparticles (NPs)/glucose oxidase (GOx) composite film associated with a Au electrode is used to follow the biocatalytic activities of the enzyme. The film is assembled on a Au electrode by the electropolymerization of thioaniline-functionalized Pt NPs and thioaniline-modified GOx. The resulting enzyme/Pt NPs-functionalized electrode stimulates the O 2 oxidation of glucose to gluconic acid and H 2O 2. The modified electrode is then implemented to follow the activity of the enzyme by the electrochemical monitoring of the generated H 2O 2. The effect of the composition of the Pt NPs/GOx cross-linked nanostructures and the optimal conditions for the preparation of the electrodes are 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.     

DNA as a support for glucose oxidase immobilization at Prussian blue-modified glassy carbon electrode in biosensor preparation

An amperometric glucose biosensor has been developed using DNA as a matrix of Glucose oxidase (GOx) at Prussian-blue (PB)-modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode. GC electrode was chemically modified by the PB. GOx was immobilized together with DNA at the working area of the PB-modified electrode by placing a drop of the mixture of DNA and GOx. The response of the biosensor for glucose was evaluated amperometrically. Upon immobilization of glucose oxidase with DNA, the biosensor showed rapid response toward the glucose. On the other hand, no significant response was obtained in the absence of DNA. Experimental conditions influencing the biosensor performance were optimized and assessed. This biosensor offered an excellent electrochemical response for glucose concentration in micro mol level with high sensitivity and selectivity and short response time. The levels of the relative standard deviation (RSDs), (<4%) for the entire analyses reflected a highly reproducible sensor performance. Through the use of optimized conditions, a linear relationship between current and glucose concentration was obtained up to 4 x 10(-4) M. In addition, this biosensor showed high reproducibility and stability.     

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes-based glucose biosensor prepared by a layer-by-layer technique

The loading of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and glucose oxidase (GOx) in the alternate layers of a glucose biosensor was first optimized based on a layer-by-layer construction on the surface of a graphite disk electrode. With the increasing of MWNTs/GOx layers, the response current to glucose was changed regularly and the response current reached a maximum value when the number of MWNTs/GOx layers was 6. Owing to a good electrical conductivity, strong adsorption and excellent bioconsistency of MWNTs, the (MWNTs/GOx)₆ films-coated glucose biosensor had an excellent electrochemical properties. The response current of the (MWNTs/GOx)₆ films-coated biosensor to 3 × 10^− 2 M glucose was 1.63 μA while the response time was only 6.7 s. The linear range and the lowest detectable concentration of this biosensor was 5 × 10^− 4∼1.5 × 10^− 2 M and 0.9 × 10^− 4 M, respectively.     

Electrical communication between glucose oxidase and electrodes mediated by phenothiazine-labeled poly(ethylene oxide) bonded to lysine residues on the enzyme surface

A series of glucose oxidase (GOx) hybrids (GOx-phe-nothiazine-labeled poly(ethylene oxide) (PT-PEO)) capable of direct electrical communication with electrodes is synthesized by covalently modifying PT-PEO to lysine residues on the enzyme surface. The length of the PEO chain and the number of PT groups are systematically altered. After the PT-PEO modification, all the hybrids maintain more than 50% of enzyme activity relative to that of native GOx, although loss of the activity becomes greater with increasing PEO chain length. The catalytic current, i(cat), is observed at a potential more positive than 0.55 V after the addition of glucose, due to the intramolecular electron transfer (El) from reduced forms of flavin adenine dinucletide (FADH2/FADH) to PT+ that are electrogenerated at the electrode. The i(cat) value increases with the number of PT groups, indicating that most of the modified PT groups act as mediators. The magnitude of the i(cat) increase depends on the PEO chain length and reveals a maximum for PT-PEO with the molecular weight of 3,000. In contrast, the i(cat) is almost constant for GOx-2-(10-phenothiazyl)propionic acid (PT-PA) hybrids with more than two PT groups synthesized by covalently modifying PT-PA to surface lysines, indicating that only a few key PT groups function as mediators. The maximum rate constant (130 s(-1)) for the ET from FADH2/FADH to PT+ is obtained for the GOx hybrid modified with five PT-PEO groups with the molecular weight of 3,000.     

A comparative study of enzyme immobilization strategies for multi-walled carbon nanotube glucose biosensors

This work addresses the comparison of different strategies for improving biosensor performance using nanomaterials. Glucose biosensors based on commonly applied enzyme immobilization approaches, including sol-gel encapsulation approaches and glutaraldehyde cross-linking strategies, were studied in the presence and absence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). Although direct comparison of design parameters such as linear range and sensitivity is intuitive, this comparison alone is not an accurate indicator of biosensor efficacy, due to the wide range of electrodes and nanomaterials available for use in current biosensor designs. We proposed a comparative protocol which considers both the active area available for transduction following nanomaterial deposition and the sensitivity. Based on the protocol, when no nanomaterials were involved, TEOS/GOx biosensors exhibited the highest efficacy, followed by BSA/GA/GOx and TMOS/GOx biosensors. A novel biosensor containing carboxylated MWNTs modified with glucose oxidase and an overlying TMOS layer demonstrated optimum efficacy in terms of enhanced current density (18.3 ± 0.5 μA mM(-1) cm(-2)), linear range (0.0037-12 mM), detection limit (3.7 μM), coefficient of variation (2%), response time (less than 8 s), and stability/selectivity/reproducibility. H(2)O(2) response tests demonstrated that the most possible reason for the performance enhancement was an increased enzyme loading. This design is an excellent platform for versatile biosensing applications.     

Functionalization of a poly(amidoamine) dendrimer with ferrocenyls and its application to the construction of a reagentless enzyme electrode

Poly(amidoamine) dendrimers having various degrees of modification with the redox-active ferrocenyls were prepared by controlling the molar ratio of ferrocenecarboxaldehyde to amine groups of dendrimers. By alternate layer-by-layer depositions of partial ferrocenyl-tethered dendrimers (Fc-D) with periodate-oxidized glucose oxidase (GOx) on a Au surface, an electrochemically and enzymatically active multilayered assembly of enzyme was constructed. The resulting GOx/Fc-D multilayer-associated electrodes were electrochemically analyzed, and the surface concentration of ferrocenyl groups, active enzyme coverage, and sensitivity were estimated. A 32% dendrimer modification level of surface amines to ferrocenyls was found to be an optimum in terms of enzyme-dendrimer network formation, electrochemical interconnectivity of ferrocenyls, and electrode sensitivity. With the prepared Fc(32%)-tethered dendrimers, mono- and multilayered GOx/Fc-D electrodes were constructed, and their electrochemical and catalytic properties were characterized. The bioelectrocatalytic signals from the multilayered GOx/Fc-D electrodes were shown to be directly correlated to the number of deposited bilayers. From this result, it seems that the electrode sensitivity is directly controllable, and the multilayer-forming strategy with partial ferrocenyl-tethered dendrimers is useful for the construction of reagentless biosensors.     

Preparation of polypyrrole nanoparticles in reverse micelle and its application to glucose biosensor

Polypyrrole nanoparticles were successfully synthesized in cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB)/hexanol/water reverse micelle. The morphology and particle size of the obtained nanoparticles were characterized with transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Glucose biosensors were formed with glucose oxidase (GOx) immobilized in conducting composite material consisting of polypyrrole nanoparticles and ethyl cellulose. The effects of reaction conditions such as molar ratio of polypyrrole nanoparticles to ethyl cellulose, working voltage, glucose concentration, temperature and solution pH on the electrochemical response of the GOx electrode were studied. Experimental results showed that the linear range of GOx electrode was 1.0 x 10(-6)-6 x 10(-3) mol/L and the detection limit was 1.0 x 10(-7) mol/L. The electrode exhibited fine repeatability and selectability, and its lifetime was greater than one month. AFM showed that the surface of conducting composite material-glucose oxidase electrode's presents uniform granular after washing paraffin wax with cyclohexane, which was favorable for enzyme-catalyzed reaction.