Nonenzymatic glucose voltammetric sensor based on gold nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes/ionic liquid nanocomposite

In this paper, a novel nonenzymatic glucose voltammetric sensor based on a kind of nanocomposite of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) embedded in multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/ionic liquid (IL) gel was reported. The surface morphology of this nanocomposite was characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectrometer (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM), respectively. It can be found that most of GNPs lie close to the ektexine of MWCNTs and the others have obviously inserted the inner of MWCNTs through the defects or ends of MWCNTs, due to the attraction between GNPs and MWCNTs as well as the repulsion between GNPs and IL. Voltammetry was used to evaluate the electrocatalytic activities of the nanocomposite biosensor toward nonenzymatic glucose oxidation in alkaline media. The GNPs embedded in MWCNTs/IL gel have strong and sensitive voltammetric responses to glucose, owing to a possible synergistic effect among GNPs, MWCNTs and IL. Under the optimal condition, the linear range for the detection of the glucose is 5.0-120 μM with the correlation coefficient of 0.998, based on the oxidation peak observed during cathodic direction of the potential sweep. The kinetics and mechanism of glucose electro-oxidation were intensively investigated in this system. This kind of nanocomposite biosensor is also highly resistant toward poisoning by chloride ions and capable of sensing glucose oxidation in the presence of 20 μM uric acid and 70 μM ascorbic acid. This work provides a simple and easy approach to the detection of glucose in body fluid with high sensitivity and excellent selectivity.     

Direct electrochemical detection of kanamycin based on peroxidase-like activity of gold nanoparticles

An enzyme-free, ultrasensitive electrochemical detection of kanamycin residue was achieved based on mimetic peroxidase activity of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and target-induced replacement of the aptamer. AuNPs which were synthesized using tyrosine as a reducing and capping agent, exhibited mimetic peroxidase activity. In the presence of kanamycin-specific aptamer, however, the single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) adsorbed on the surface of AuNPs via the interaction between the bases of ssDNA and AuNPs, and therefore blocked the catalytic site of AuNPs, and inhibited their peroxidase activity. While in the presence of target kanamycin, it bound with the adsorbed aptamer on AuNPs with high affinity, exposed the surface of AuNPs and recovered the peroxidase activity. Then AuNPs catalyzed the reaction between H₂O₂ and reduced thionine to produce oxidized thionine. The latter exhibited a distinct reduction peak on gold electrode in differential pulse voltammetry (DPV), and could be utilized to quantify the concentration of kanamycin. Under the optimized conditions, the proposed electrochemical assay showed an extremely high sensitivity towards kanamycin, with a linear relationship between the peak current and the concentration of kanamycin in the range of 0.1–60 nM, and a detection limit of 0.06 nM. Moreover, the established approach was successfully applied in the detection of kanamycin in honey samples. Therefore, the proposed electrochemical assay has great potential in the fields of food quality control and environmental monitoring.     

Glassy carbon electrodes modified with gold nanoparticles for the simultaneous determination of three food antioxidants

Electrochemical behavior of three antioxidants: butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) and butylated hydroquinone (TBHQ), was investigated at a glassy carbon electrode modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs/GCE). This electrode was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The experimental results indicated that the modified electrode was strongly electroactive during the redox reactions of BHA, BHT and TBHQ, and this was confirmed by the observed increased redox peak currents and shifted potentials; in addition, the oxidation products of BHA and TBHQ were found to be the same. The experimental conditions were optimized and the oxidation peaks of BHA and BHT were clearly separated. Based on this, an electrochemical method was researched and developed for the simultaneous determination of BHA, BHT and TBHQ in mixtures with the use of first derivative voltammetry; the linear concentration ranges were 0.10–1.50 μg mL⁻¹, 0.20–2.20 μg mL⁻¹ and 0.20–2.80 μg mL⁻¹, and detection limits were 0.039, 0.080 and 0.079 μg mL⁻¹, for BHA, BHT and TBHQ, respectively. The proposed method was successfully applied for the analysis of the three analytes in edible oil samples.     

Anodic stripping voltammetry of antimony using gold nanoparticle-modified carbon screen-printed electrodes

Carbon screen-printed electrodes (CSPE) modified with gold nanoparticles present an interesting alternative in the determination of antimony using differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry. Metallic gold nanoparticles deposits have been obtained by direct electrochemical deposition. Scanning electron microscopy measurements show that the electrochemically synthesized gold nanoparticles are deposited in aggregated form. Any undue effects caused by the presence of foreign ions in the solution were also analyzed to ensure that common interferents in the determination of antimony by ASV. The detection limit for Sb(III) obtained was 9.44 × 10⁻¹⁰ M. In terms of reproducibility, the precision of the above mentioned method in %R.S.D. values was calculated at 2.69% (n = 10). The method was applied to determine levels of antimony in seawater samples and pharmaceutical preparations.     

A method to construct polyelectrolyte multilayers film containing gold nanoparticles

Gold nanoparticles in polyelectrolyte multilayers film can be easily prepared by repeating immersion of a substrate in poly(diallyl dimethylammonium) chloride (PDDA)-AuCl₄⁻ complexes solution followed by reduction Au³⁺ through heating. UV-vis spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to confirm the successful construction of the polyelectrolyte multilayers film and the formation of gold nanoparticles. The multilayers film shows electrocatalytic activity to dioxygen reduction.     

碳纳米管传感器方波伏安法检测环境水样中的百草枯

制备了多壁碳纳米管修饰玻碳电极,采用循环伏安法等方法研究了农药百草枯在修饰电极上的电化学特性,建立了一种新的检测百草枯的电化学分析方法。在最佳实验条件下,用方波伏安法检测百草枯,其响应电流与百草枯的浓度在5.38×10-7~2.37×10-4mol/L范围内有很好的线性关系,检出限为5.0×10-7mol/L。用此方法检测了环境水样中的百草枯。     

Voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy of gold electrodes modified with CdTe quantum dots and their conjugates with nickel tetraamino phthalocyanine

This work reports on the synthesis of conjugates of cadmium telluride quantum dots (CdTe-QDs) caped with thioglycolic acid and peripherally substituted nickel tetraamino phthalocyanine (NiTAPc) complex. The conjugates are characterized using cyclic (CV) and differential pulse (DPV) voltammetries, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy and time correlated single photon counting. CV and DPV show that NiTAPc stabilizes the CdTe QDs against oxidation to metallic products.     

Size effect of gold nanoparticles supported on carbon nanotube as catalysts in selected organic reactions

Carbon nanotube-supported gold nanoparticles of different sizes (diameter of 3 or 20 nm) were evaluated as catalysts in four selected organic transformations. The nanohybrids were shown to efficiently catalyze the investigated reactions, regardless of the size of the supported gold nanoparticles. However, some differences were observed as regards turnover frequency values although size effect turned out to be less significant when only gold surface atoms were considered.     

Direct electrochemical determination of carbaryl using a multi-walled carbon nanotube/cobalt phthalocyanine modified electrode

The electrochemical detection of carbaryl at low potentials, in order to avoid matrix interferences, is an important challenge. This study describes the development, electrochemical characterization and utilization of a glassy carbon (GC) electrode modified with multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) plus cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) for the quantitative determination of carbaryl in natural waters. The surface morphology was examined by scanning electron microscopy, enhanced sensitivity was observed with respect to bare glassy carbon and electrocatalytic effects reduced the oxidation potential to +0.80 V vs. SCE in acetate buffer solution at pH 4.0. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to estimate the rate constant of the oxidation process and square-wave voltammetry to investigate the effect of electrolyte pH. Square-wave voltammetry in acetate buffer solution at pH 4.0, allowed the development of a method to determine carbaryl, without any previous step of extraction, clean-up, or derivatization, in the range of 0.33-6.61 μmol L⁻¹, with a detection limit of 5.46 ± 0.02 nmol L⁻¹ (1.09 ± 0.02 μg L⁻¹) in water. Natural water samples spiked with carbaryl and without any purification step were successfully analyzed by the standard addition method using the GC/MWCNT/CoPc film electrode.     

Carbon nanofiber vs. carbon microparticles as modifiers of glassy carbon and gold electrodes applied in electrochemical sensing of NADH

Carbon materials (CMs), such as carbon nanotubes (CNTs), carbon nanofibers (CNFs), and carbon microparticles (CMPs) are used as doping materials for electrochemical sensors. The efficiency of these materials (either before or after acidic treatments) while being used as electrocatalysts in electrochemical sensors is discussed for β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) detection using cyclic voltammetry (CV). The sensitivity of the electrodes (glassy carbon (GC) and gold (Au)) modified with both treated and untreated materials have been deeply studied. The response efficiencies of the GC and Au electrodes modified with CNF and CMP, using dimethylformamide (DMF) as dispersing agent are significantly different due to the peculiar physical and chemical characteristics of each doping material. Several differences between the electrocatalytic activities of CMs modified electrodes upon NADH oxidation have been observed. The CNF film promotes better the electron transfer of NADH minimizing the oxidation potential at +0.352 V. Moreover higher currents for the NADH oxidation peak have been observed for these electrodes. The shown differences in the electrochemical reactivities of CNF and CMP modified electrodes should be with interest for future applications in biosensors.     

Gold nanoparticles/carbon nanotubes composite microspheres for catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol

The layer-by-layer assembly of polyethyleneimine and carbon nanotubes is carried out through the electrostatic interactions on colloidal polystyrene templates. The successful spherical growth of polyethyleneimine/carbon nanotube multilayers could be investigated by SEM. The subsequent in situ preparation and deposition of gold nanoparticles on the core–shell composites could yield novel microsphere complexes, which are characterized by SEM, TEM, EDX and XRD. The functional hierarchical microspheres with gold nanoparticles exhibit good catalytic activity in the reaction of reducing 4-nitrophenol to 4-aminophenol.     

Investigations of gold nanoparticles-mediated carbon nanotube reinforced hydroxyapatite composite for bone regenerations

An excellent combination of biomaterials permits prompt features and high-throughput investigations in various fields, particularly in the biomedical applications. This article investigates the bone regeneration ability and compatibility of the Gold (Au) Nanoparticles (NPs) medicated carbon nanotube reinforced hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite. The morphologies of the synthesized Au NPs, HAP and HAP/CNT, and HAP/CNT-Au composites vary suggestively with modifying the components and the final composite showing as bone mimic extracellular matrix morphology. The structure, phase, and composition of the as-synthesized HAP were studied by FTIR, XRD, EDAX, and TEM techniques. The materials' biocompatibility was investigated in the Stimulated Body Fluid (SBF) solution, which resulted in the composite having good biocompatibility, bioactivity nature and hydroxyapatite layer formed on the composite surface. The composite shows good viability with Adipose Tissue-derived Stem Cells (ADSC) to cell growth and cell proliferation in the biological evaluation. It represented the composites having a good ability for cell formation development. Since the HAP/CNT-Au composite are useful in medicinal applications such as orthopedic and orthodontic repair/regenerations after the evaluations of animal and clinical investigations.     

维生素B6在纳米金/石墨烯修饰电极上的电化学行为

将金纳米粒子电沉积在石墨烯修饰的玻碳电极表面,研究了维生素B6(VB6)在该修饰电极上的电化学行为。扫描电镜用于该修饰电极组装过程的形貌表征。实验结果表明:VB6在此修饰电极上出现一个良好的氧化峰,在最佳实验条件下,其氧化峰电流与VB6浓度在5.0×10-8～2.0×10-5 mol/L范围内呈线性关系,其线性回归方程为I(μA)=0.5697c(μmol/L)+0.06275,R=0.9992,检出限为2.0×10-8 mol/L(S/N=3)。一些常见的干扰物质如抗坏血酸不干扰VB6的检测。方法已用于片剂中VB6的含量的检测。     

Effects of pretreatments and modifiers on electrochemical properties of carbon paste electrodes

The electrochemical properties of carbon paste electrodes (CPEs), including unmodified and modified with protein and polycations, were investigated by impedance spectroscopy (IS) using ferricyanide and ferrocene monocarboxylic acid (FcMA) as redox probes. Various electrochemical pretreatments were applied to the unmodified CPE. The heterogeneous charge transfer rate constant of ferro/ferricyanide couple is enhanced by 2 to 10 times compared with that obtained at untreated electrodes. It was found that for ferricyanide the more suitable pretreatments are successive cyclic voltammetric scans, cathodization and a square wave-like stepping rather than high-potential anodization. However, the pretreatment only exhibits a slight effect on the kinetics of FcMA. At the CPEs containing modifier, the electron transfer rate of the redox couple depends more on the pH of electrolyte solution if ferro/ferricyanide is used. The results can be explained by the differently charged states of the CPEs that were caused by the protonation or deprotonation of the modifiers in various pH solutions and demonstrate the importance of the electrostatic interaction on the kinetics of the highly polar species such as ferricyanide. The different adsorptive behavior of ferricyanide and FcMA is also discussed.     

Sensitive and selective cocaine electrochemical detection using disposable sensors

This paper describes the voltammetric determination of cocaine in presence of three different interferences that could be found in street samples using disposable sensors. The electrochemical analysis of this alkaloid can be affected by the presence of codeine, paracetamol or caffeine, whose oxidation peaks may overlap and lead to false positives. This work describes two different solutions to this problem. On one hand, the modification of disposable carbon sensors with carbon nanotubes allows the voltammetric quantification of cocaine by using ordinary least squares regressions in the concentration range from 10 to 155 μmol L⁻¹, with a reproducibility of 5.6% (RSD, n = 7. On the other hand, partial least squares regressions are used for the resolution of the overlapped voltammetric signals when using screen-printed carbon electrodes without any modification. Both procedures have been successfully applied to the evaluation of the purity of cocaine street samples.     

Modification of Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein with gold nanoparticles for electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization

The unique binding event between Escherichia coli single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) and single-stranded oligonucleotides conjugated to gold (Au) nanoparticles is utilized for the electrochemical detection of DNA hybridization. SSB was attached onto a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) of single-stranded oligonucleotide modified Au nanoparticle, and the resulting Au-tagged SSB was used as the hybridization label. Changes in the Au oxidation signal was monitored upon binding of Au tagged SSB to probe and hybrid on the electrode surface. The amplified oxidation signal of Au nanoparticles provided a detection limit of 2.17 pM target DNA, which can be applied to genetic diagnosis applications. This work presented here has important implications with regard to combining a biological binding event between a protein and DNA with a solid transducer and metal nanoparticles.     

A label-free electrochemical immunosensor based on gold nanoparticles for detection of paraoxon

An electrochemical immunosensor for the direct determination of paraoxon has been developed based on the biocomposites of gold nanoparticles loaded with paraoxon antibodies. The biocomposites are immobilized on the glassy carbon electrode (GCE) using Nafion membrane. On the immunosensor prepared paraoxon shows well-shaped CV with reduction and oxidation peaks located −0.08 and −0.03 mV versus SCE, respectively. The detection of paraoxon performed at −0.03 mV is beneficial for guaranteeing sufficient selectivity. The amount of the biocomposite consisting gold nanoparticles loaded with antibodies and the volume of Nafion solution used for fabricating the immunosensor have been studied to ensure sensitivity and conductivity of the immunosensor. The immunosensor has been employed for monitoring the concentrations of paraoxon in aqueous samples up to 1920 μg l⁻¹ with a detection limit of 12 μg l⁻¹.     

The influence of ionic liquids on the fabrication of nonenzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor

Gold nanoparticles (GNPs) embedded in a Bucky gel consisting of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and ionic liquid (IL) show an excellent electrocatalytic activity to glucose oxidation owing to some synergistic effects among GNPs, CNTs and IL. Each component in such a composite has its specific function while there are complicate interactions among them. Based on this strategy, the use of composite as the modified coating allows the fabrication of a novel nonenzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor, which shows a substantial enhancement in detection sensitivity. This paper centers on the influence of several ILs with various anions and cations as well as alkyl branch lengths on the function of sensor. Based on our results, the performance of the sensor is strongly influenced by ILs. A few conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, an imidazolium cation facilitates both the stability of sensor and the efficiencies of GNPs and CNTs, while the alkyl branch lengths have few effects on the performance of sensor. Secondly, a hydrophilic anion is beneficial to the formation of environment where the direct oxidation of glucose takes place. Thirdly, other anions such as BF₄⁻ and PF₆⁻ do not matter for imidazolium-based IL. Fourthly, non-imidazolium-based IL militates against the dispersion of CNTs and GNPs in Bucky gel, reducing the detection sensitivity to glucose. Of the ILs studied, the best performance for glucose determination is obtained with an IL mainly benefitted by the combination of imidazole and sulfonate.     

Electrochemistry of polystyrene intercalated vertically aligned single- and double-walled carbon nanotubes on gold electrodes

Electrochemical electrodes incorporating double- and single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were fabricated on cysteamine modified flat gold substrates. Through covalent coupling of the amine end groups with carboxyl functionalized CNTs, a dense forest of vertically aligned CNTs was produced. To these a 30 nm thick insulating polystyrene layer was spin coated, resulting in exposure of the uppermost carbon nanotube ends. The electrochemical performance of each electrode was then determined using the redox probe ruthenium hexaamine. Once surrounded by polymer, the double-walled CNTs (DWCNTs) showed an improved electron transfer rate, compared to the single-walled electrode. This improvement was attributed to the protection of the electronic properties of the inner wall of the DWCNT during the chemical modification and suggests that DWCNTs may offer a useful alternative to SWCNTs in future electrochemical sensors and biosensors.     

Direct application of gold nanoparticles to one-pot electrochemical biosensors

Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) have been widely employed for the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors. In most cases, AuNPs are immobilized on the surface of an electrode, so they are difficult to be regenerated, making the use of the biosensor unfriendly. In this work, by adopting AuNPs directly as the electrolytes, we have developed a novel AuNPs-based electrochemical detection system. In brief, AuNPs-catalyzed oxidation of glucose is combined with a HRP-catalyzed reaction as well as an electrocatalytic reaction to compose cascade reactions in the electrolyte. Thus, the intensity of the electrocatalytic signals has quantitative relation with the concentration of glucose, and favors the sensitive detection of glucose. Furthermore, because the catalysis of AuNPs may be blocked under the interaction with single-stranded DNA and unblocked in the presence of a complementary sequence, detection of DNA and even single-nucleotide polymorphism can thereby been achieved. This one-pot detection system can be operated and regenerated very easily, since all the components are integrated in the electrolytes of AuNPs, and the unmodified electrode can be reused after being rinsed. This concept by integrating the advantages of sensitive electrochemical detection with the easy-to-operate nanocolloidal system may also promote the development of other kinds of electrochemical biosensors.