Sensitive voltammetric determination of xanthinol nicotinate at a carbon nanotubes-ionic liquid gel modified electrode

The electrochemistry of xanthinol nicotinate(Xan) was studied by cyclic voltammetry at a glassy carbon electrode modified by a gel containing multi-walled carbon nanotubes(MWNTs) and room-temperature ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate(BMTMPF_6).The modified electrode exhibited good promotion to the electrochemical oxidation of Xan and an ultrasensitive electrochemical method was proposed for the determination of Xan.This method was successfully applied to the determination of...     

A Simple Layer‐by‐Layer Assembly Strategy for a Reagentless Biosensor Based on a Nanocomposite of Methylene Blue‐Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

A simple layer‐by‐layer (LBL) assembly strategy was established for constructing a novel reagentless biosensor based on a nanocomposite of methylene blue multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MB‐MWNTs). A nanocomposite of MB‐MWNTs was obtained by direct premixing and possessed good dispersion in barbital‐HCl buffer. Through electrostatic interactions, the nanocomposite of MB‐MWNTs could alternately be assembled with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) on the Au electrode modified with precursor films. UV/Vis spectra and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to reveal the formation of the nanocomposite of MB‐MWNTs. The LBL assembly process was also verified by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The MB is a well‐established mediator and efficiently facilitated the electron shuttle between the HRP and the electrode, as demonstrated by the cyclic voltammetry (CV) measurements. The as‐prepared reagentless biosensor exhibited a fast response for the determination of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and reached 95% of the steady‐state current within 3 s. It was found that the linear response range of the reagentless biosensor for H₂O₂ was from 4.0 μM to 3.78 mM with a detection limit of 1.0 μM and a sensitivity of 22.5 μA mM⁻¹. The biosensor exhibited a high reproducibility and stability.     

Application of multi-walled carbon nanotubes modified carbon ionic liquid electrode for electrocatalytic oxidation of dopamine

A simple, sensitive, and reliable method based on a multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) modified carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) has been successfully developed for determination of dopamine (DA) in the presence of ascorbic acid (AA). The acid-treated MWNTs with carboxylic acid functional groups could promote the electron-transfer reaction of DA and inhibit the voltammetric response of AA. Due to the good performance of the ionic liquid, the electrochemical response of DA on the MWNTs/CILE was better than that of other MWNTs modified electrodes. Under the optimum conditions a linear calibration plot was obtained in the range 5.0×10(-8) to 2.0×10(-4) mol L(-1) and the detection limit was 1.0×10(-8) mol L(-1).     

A Nitric Oxide Biosensor Based on Myoglobin Adsorbed on Multi‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Myoglobin (Myb) of horse heart is incorporated on multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and immobilized at a glassy carbon (GC) electrode surface. Its electrochemical behavior and enzyme activity are characterized by employing electrochemical methods. The results indicate that MWNTs can obviously promote the direct electron transfer between Myb and electrode, and that the Myb on MWNTs behaves as an enzyme‐like activity towards the electrochemical reduction of nitric oxide (NO). Accordingly, an unmediated NO biosensor is constructed. Experimental results reveal that the peak current related to NO is linearly proportional to its concentration in the range of 2.0×10^?7–4.0×10^?5 mol/L. The detection limit is estimated to be 8.0×10^?8 mol/L. Considering a relative standard deviation of 2.1% in seven independent determinations of 1.0×10^?5 mol/L NO, this biosensor shows a good reproducibility. The biosensor based on Myb/MWNTs modified electrode can be used for the rapid determination of trace NO in aqueous solution with a good stability, nice selectivity and easy construction.     

Electrochemical characteristics of the immobilization of calf thymus DNA molecules on multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Immobilization of DNA on carbon nanotubes plays an important role in the development of new types of miniature DNA biosensors. Electrochemical characteristics of the immobilization of calf thymus DNA molecules on the surfaces of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance analysis. The peak currents for Fe(CN)(6)(3-)/Fe(CN)(6)(4-) redox couple observed in the cyclic voltammograms decrease and the electron-transfer resistance (R(et)) obtained from the Nyquist plots increase due to the immobilization of DNA molecules (dsDNA or ssDNA) on the surfaces of MWNTs. Most of calf thymus DNA are covalently immobilized on MWNTs via diimide-activated amidation between the carboxylic acid groups on the carbon nanotubes and the amino groups on DNA bases, though the direct adsorption of the DNA molecules on MWNTs can be observed. Additionally, the interaction between DNA molecules immobilized on MWNTs and small biomolecules (ethidium bromide) can be observed obviously by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance analysis. This implies that the DNA molecules immobilized at the surface of MWNTs, with little structure change, still has the ability to interact with small biomolecules.     

Carbon Nanotubes‐Based Amperometric Cholesterol Biosensor Fabricated Through Layer‐by‐Layer Technique

A carbon nanotubes‐based amperometric cholesterol biosensor has been fabricated through layer‐by‐layer (LBL) deposition of a cationic polyelectrolyte (PDDA, poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride)) and cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) on multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs)‐modified gold electrode, followed by electrochemical generation of a nonconducting poly(o‐phenylenediamine) (PPD) film as the protective coating. Electrochemical impedance measurements have shown that PDDA/ChOx multilayer film could be formed uniformly on MWNTs‐modified gold electrode. Due to the strong electrocatalytic properties of MWNTs toward H₂O₂ and the low permeability of PPD film for electroacitve species, such as ascorbic acid, uric acid and acetaminophen, the biosensor has shown high sensitivity and good anti‐interferent ability in the detection of cholesterol. The effect of the pH value of the detection solution on the response of the biosensor was also investigated. A linear range up to 6.0 mM has been observed for the biosensor with a detection limit of 0.2 mM. The apparent Michaelis‐Menten constant and the maximum response current density were calculated to be 7.17 mM and 7.32 μA cm^?2, respectively.     

Direct Electrochemistry of Myoglobin in a Nafion‐Ionic Liquid Composite Film Modified Carbon Ionic Liquid Electrode

In this paper two kinds of ionic liquids (ILs) were used for the construction of a myoglobin (Mb) electrochemical biosensor. Firstly a hydrophilic ionic liquid of 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIMBF₄) was used as binder to prepare a carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE), then a Nafion and hydrophobic ionic liquid of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆) composite film was applied on the surface of the CILE. The direct electrochemistry of Mb in the Nafion‐BMIMPF₆/CILE was achieved with the cathodic and anodic peak potentials located at ?0.345 V and ?0.213 V (vs. SCE). The formal potential (E°′) was located at ?0.279 V, which was the characteristic of Mb Fe^III/Fe^II redox couples. The electrochemical behaviors of Mb in the Nafion‐ionic liquid composite film modified CILE were carefully investigated. The Mb modified electrode showed good electrocatalytic behaviors to the reduction of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and NaNO₂. Based on the Nafion‐BMIMPF₆/Mb/CILE, a new third generation reagentless biosensor was constructed.     

Electrochemical Detection of Nitric Oxide on a SWCNT/RTIL Composite Gel Microelectrode

Single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) were used to make a gel microelectrode for studies of the oxidation of nitric oxide (NO). The Faraday response of the gel microelectrode was contributed from two components: an outside‐surface microdisk and a thin‐layer cell formed by inner porous electrode materials, and enhanced by the thin‐layer effect. An EC mechanism, electrochemical NO oxidation followed by a chemical oxidation, was proposed. The gel microelectrode with a Nafion coating eliminated interferences from nitrite and some biomolecules, improved stability, and had a linear response range from 100 nM to 100 μM.     

Hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on electrodeposition of zinc oxide nanoflowers onto carbon nanotubes film electrode

A new amperometric biosensor for hydrogen peroxide was developed based on adsorption of horseradish peroxidase at the glassy carbon electrode modified with zinc oxide nanoflowers produced by electrodeposition onto multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWNTs） film. The morphology of the MWNTs/nano-ZnO electrode has been investigated by scanning electron microscopy （SEM）, and the electrochemical performance of the electrode has also been studied by amperometric method. The resulting electrode offered an excellent detection for hydrogen peroxide at -0.11 V with a linear response range of 9.9×10^-7 to 2.9×10^-3 mol/L with a correlation coefficient of 0.991, and response time 〈5 s. The biosensor displays rapid response and expanded linear response range, and excellent stability.     

Improving the performance of all-solid-state supercapacitors by modifying ionic liquid gel electrolytes with graphene nanosheets prepared by arc-discharge

Ionic liquid gel polymers have widely been used as the electrolytes in all-solid-state supercapacitors, but they suffer from low ionic conductivity and poor electrochemical performance. Arc discharge is a fast, low-cost and scalable method to prepare multi-layered graphene nanosheets, and as-made graphene nanosheets （denoted as ad-GNSs） with few defects, high electrical conductivity and high thermal stability should be favorable conductive additive materials. Here, a novel ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte based on an ionic liquid （EM1MNTF2） and an copolymer （P（VDF-HFP）） was modified by the addition of ad-GNSs as an ionic conducting promoter. This modified gel electrolyte shows excellent thermal stability up to 400 ℃ and a wide electrochemical window of 3 V. An all-solid-state supercapacitor based on commercial activated carbon was fabricated using this modified ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte, which shows obviously improved electrochemical behaviors compared with those of the corresponding all-solid-state supercapacitor using pure ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte. Specially, smaller internal resistance, higher specific capacitance, better rate performance and cycling stability are achieved. These results indicate that the ionic liquid gel polymers modified by ad-GNSs would be promising and suitable gel electrolytes for high performance all-solid-state electrochemical devices.     

Highly sensitive composite electrode based on electrospun carbon nanofibers and ionic liquid

A novel composite electrode has been developed using electrospun carbon nanofibers (CNF) and the ionic liquid 1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium hexaflurophosphate (PFP). The highly pure CNF without any pretreatment exhibited very low background noise and high voltammetric responses. When applied to sensing of biomolecules under physiological conditions, the CNF/PFP electrode provided attractive electrochemical performances, such as high sensitivity and good selectivity for simultaneous detection of dopamine, ascorbic acid and uric acid, guanine and adenine, as well as high signal-to-noise ratio and good stability for amperometric detection of NADH.     

A hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes-polyvinyl butyral film modified electrode

A novel approach to construct a amperometric biosensor for determination of H₂O₂ is described. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a base enzyme was immobilized into the mixture of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and polyvinyl butyral (PVB). Taking the classical hydroquinone as mediator, cyclic voltammetry and amperometric measurements were used to study and optimize the performance of the resulting H₂O₂ biosensor. The effect of the concentration of MWNTs, HRP, hydroquinone, solution pH, and the working potential of amperometry on the electrochemical biosensor was systematically studied. The results showed that the fabricated biosensor demonstrated significant electrocatalytic activity for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide with wide linear range from 0.000832 to 0.6 mM, and low detection limit 0.000167 mM (S/N = 3) with fast response time less than 8 s. The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant was determined to be 0.049 mM. Additionally, the biosensor exhibited high sensitivity, rapid response and good long-term stability.     

Biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with tyrosinase immmobilized on multiwalled carbon nanotubes

We describe a biosensor for phenolic compounds that is based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with tyrosinase immobilized on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The MWNTs possess excellent inherent electrical conductivity which enhances the electron transfer rate and results in good electrochemical catalytic activity towards the reduction of benzoquinone produced by enzymatic reaction. The biosensor was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, and the experimental conditions were optimized. The cathodíc current is linearly related to the concentration of the phenols between 0.4???M and 10???M, and the detection limit is 0.2???M. The method was applied to the determination of phenol in water samples.

The Construction of Glucose Biosensor Based on Platinum Nanoclusters—Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes Nanocomposites

One-step synthesis method was proposed to obtain the nanocomposites of platinum nanoclusters and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PtNCs–MWNTs), which were used as a novel immobilization matrix for the enzyme to fabricate glucose biosensor. The fabrication process of the biosensor was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscope. Due to the favorable characteristic of PtNCs–MWNTs nanocomposites, the biosensor exhibited good characteristics, such as wide linear range (3.0 μM–12.1 mM), low detection limit (1.0 μM), high sensitivity (12.8 μA mM⁻¹), rapid response time (within 6 s). The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant ( K_m^\textapp K_m^{\text{app}} ) is 2.1 mM. The performance of the resulting biosensor is more prominent than that of most of the reported glucose biosensors. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that this biosensor can be used for the assay of glucose in human serum samples.     

Investigation of the direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of myoglobin on gold nanorods modified electrode

Direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of myoglobin (Mb) on a gold nanorod (AuNR)‐decorated carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) were studied in this article. The fabricated Nafion/Mb/AuNRs/CILE was used as an electrochemical biosensor for determining trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and sodium nitrite (NaNO₂). AuNRs exhibited high metal conductivity, and acted as the bridge between electrochemical active centers of Mb and the substrate electrode with the electron transfer rate accelerated. Electrochemical performances of Nafion/Mb/AuNRs/CILE were checked in pH 3.0 phosphate buffer solution with the electrochemical parameters calculated. Low detection limits and wide linear ranges were obtained in electrocatalytic investigations of different catalytic substrates including TCA and NaNO₂, which exhibited potential applications in actual sample detection.     

Pulsed Deposited Manganese and Vanadium Oxide Film Modified with Carbon Nanotube and Gold Nanoparticle: Chitosan and Ionic Liquid‐based Biosensor

Present study describes the synthesis of mixed oxide films of manganese and vanadium by electrochemical pulsed deposition technique on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) modified with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The film was further decorated with gold nanoparticles to enhance the reduction signal of dissolved oxygen in pH 5.17 acetate buffer solution. All of the electrochemical synthesized modified electrodes have been characterized with Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), High‐resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X‐Ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X‐Ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The electrode obtained (AuNPs/MnOx?VOx/CNT/GCE) was utilized as a platform for glucose biosensor where the glucose oxidase enzyme was immobilized on the composite film with the aid of chitosan and an ionic liquid. The electrochemical performance of the biosensor was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and the relative parameters have been optimized by amperometric measurements in pH 5.17 acetate buffer solution. The developed biosensor exhibited a linear range for glucose between 0.1–1.0 mM and the limit of detection was calculated as 0.02 mM.     

Synergistic effects of nano-ZnO/multi-walled carbon nanotubes/chitosan nanocomposite membrane for the sensitive detection of sequence-specific of PAT gene and PCR amplification of NOS gene

The remarkable synergistic effects of the zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) were developed for the ssDNA probe immobilization and fabrication of the electrochemical DNA biosensor. The ZnO/MWNTs/chitosan nanocomposite membrane-modified glassy carbon electrode (ZnO/MWNTs/CHIT/GCE) was fabricated and the ssDNA probes were immobilized on the modified electrode surface. The preparation method is quite simple and inexpensive. The hybridization events were monitored by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) using methylene blue (MB) as an indicator. As compared with previous MWNTs-based DNA biosensors, this composite matrix combined the attractive biocompatibility of ZnO nanoparticles with the excellent electron-transfer ability of MWNTs and fine membrane-forming ability of CHIT increased the DNA attachment quantity and complementary DNA detection sensitivity. The approach described here can effectively discriminate complementary DNA sequence, noncomplementary sequence, single-base mismatched sequence and double-base mismatched sequence related to phosphinothricin acetyltransferase (PAT) gene in transgenic corn. Under optimal conditions, the dynamic detection range of the sensor to PAT gene complementary target sequence was from 1.0 × 10⁻¹¹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁶ mol/L with the detection limit of 2.8 × 10⁻¹² mol/L. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of nopaline synthase (NOS) gene from the real sample of one kind of transgenic soybeans was also satisfactorily detected with this electrochemical DNA biosensor, suggesting that the ZnO/MWNTs/CHIT nanocomposite hold great promises for sensitive electrochemical biosensor applications.     

Hyphenation of ionic liquid albumin glassy carbon biosensor or protein label-free sensor with differential pulse stripping voltammetry for interaction studies of human serum albumin with fenoprofen enantiomers

A new biosensor or protein label-free sensor composed of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphates (BMIMPF₆)-human serum albumin (HSA) film on glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was produced. Unfortunately, the native proteins themselves are often unstable in physiological conditions. Here, we introduced conjugation with ionic liquid (IL) such as BMIMPF₆ which improved the stability and binding affinity of protein onto GCE. A rapid, simple and reliable method for the chiral discrimination and real time protein binding studies of fenoprofen enantiomers with HSA was developed by hyphenating ionic liquid albumin glassy carbon (ILAGC) biosensor with differential pulse cathodic stripping voltammetry under physiological conditions. The electrochemical behavior of chiral fenoprofen was monitored by cyclic voltammetry, from which large response was obtained from l-fenoprofen. The surface coverage of fenoprofen enantiomers was calculated by double potential-step chronocoulometry. The binding constants of chiral fenoprofen with HSA were estimated to be 3.2 × 10⁵ ± 0.3 L mol⁻¹ and 0.8 × 10⁴ ± 0.4 L mol⁻¹ for l- and d-fenoprofen, respectively giving acceptable precision (SD ≤ 0.4) and good agreement with the literature values. The competitive interactions of ibuprofen with fenoprofen enantiomers–HSA were studied giving a significant decreasing in the binding degrees of analytes to HSA. The reciprocal competitive experiments indicated that l-fenoprofen replaced d-fenoprofen from HSA. The proposed electrochemical biosensor holds great potential for chiral discrimination and real time binding studies of drugs with protein.     

Electrochemical sensing of DNA immobilization and hybridization based on carbon nanotubes/nano zinc oxide/chitosan composite film

A novel electrochemical DNA biosensor based on zinc oxide （ZnO） nanoparticles and multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWNTs） for DNA immobilization and enhanced hybridization detection is presented. The MWNTs/nano ZnO/chitosan composite film modified glassy carbon electrode （MWNTs/ZnO/CHIT/GCE） was fabricated and DNA probes were immobilized on the electrode surface. The hybridization events were monitored by differential pulse voltammetry （DPV） using methylene blue （MB） as an indicator. The sensor can effectively discriminate different DNA sequences related to PAT gene in the transgenic corn, with a detection limit of 2.8× 10^-12 mol/L of target sequence.     

Prussian Blue Modified Carbon Ionic Liquid Electrode: Electrochemical Characterization and Its Application for Hydrogen Peroxide and Glucose Measurements

Prussian blue modified carbon ionic liquid electrodes (PB‐CILEs) were fabricated using chemical and electrochemical procedures. Chemically fabricated PB‐CILE exhibited an excellent sensitivity (0.0866 μA μM^?1), low detection limit (0.01 μM) and two linear ranges (0.01–1 and 1–600 μM) toward hydrogen peroxide. Then, glucose oxidase (GOx) was immobilized on the surface of PB‐CILE to fabricate glucose biosensor using three different procedures involving cross linking with glutaraldehyde (GLU) and bovine serum albumin (BSA), entrapment into the Nafion matrix and covering with a sol‐gel layer. Glucose biosensor fabricated using cross linking procedure showed the best sensitivity (0.0019 μA μM^?1) and operational stability for glucose.