Direct DNA Hybridization on the Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Sensors Detected by Voltammetry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy

Carboxylic acid functionalized single‐walled carbon nanotubes modified graphite sensors (SWCNT‐PGEs) were developed for electrochemical monitoring of direct DNA hybridization related to specific sequence of Hepatitis B virus, which substantially enhance the electrochemical transduction resulting from guanine oxidation signal comparison to bare PGEs. The performance characteristics of DNA hybridization on disposable CNT‐PGE were explored measuring the guanine signal in terms of optimum analytical conditions; probe and target concentration, hybridization time, and selectivity. The voltammetric results were also complemented with electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), that was used to characterize the successful construction of carbon nanotubes modification onto the surface of PGEs.     

Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Gold Electrodes as an Impedimetric DNA Sensor

A gold surface modified with a self‐assembled monolayer of 11‐amino‐1‐undecanethiol (AUT) was used for the covalent immobilization of oxidized single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The as‐described SWNTs‐modified substrate was subsequently used to attach single‐stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (ssDNA) used as a substrate for DNA hybridization. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements were performed to follow the DNA hybridization process by using the redox couple [Fe(CN)₆]^3−/4− as a marker ion. Specifically, changes in charge transfer resistance obtained from the Nyquist plots were used as the sensing parameter of DNA hybridization. The substrate sensitivity towards changes in target DNA concentration, its selectivity toward different DNA sequences and its reusability are successfully demonstrated in this report.     

Electrooxidation of Chlorophenols Catalyzed by Nickel Octadecylphthalocyanine Adsorbed on Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

We described the synthesis of nickel octadecylphthalocyanine (NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈), followed by its adsorption on single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) to form SWCNT‐NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈ conjugates. SWCNT‐NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈ was used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and for the electrooxidation of 4‐chlorophenol and 2,4‐dichlorophenol. The SWCNT and NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈ have a synergistic effect on each other in terms of improving electrocatalysis for the detection of chlorophenols. The stability of the electrode improved in the presence of NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈ or NiPc compared to the bare GCE. The presence of SWCNT improves the electrocatalytic behaviour of NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈ but not of unsubstituted NiPc. All modified electrodes showed improved stability towards the detection of 2,4‐dichlorophenol. The best stability for 4‐CP detection was observed in the presence of SWCNT for NiPc(C₁₀H₂₁)₈.     

Electrochemically Functionalized Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube Gas Sensor

We demonstrate a facile fabrication method to make chemical gas sensors using single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) electrochemically functionalized with polyaniline (PANI). The potential advantage of this method is to enable targeted functionalization with different materials to allow for creation of high‐density individually addressable nanosensor arrays. PANI‐SWNT network based sensors were tested for on‐line monitoring of ammonia gas. The results show a superior sensitivity of 2.44% ΔR/R per ppm_v NH₃ (which is more than 60 times higher than intrinsic SWNT based sensors), a detection limit as low as 50 ppb_v, and good reproducibility upon repeated exposure to 10 ppm_v NH₃. The typical response time of the sensors at room temperature is on the order of minutes and the recovery time is a few hours. Higher sensitivities were observed at lower temperatures. These results indicate that electrochemical functionalization of SWNTs provides a promising new method of creating highly advanced nanosensors with improved sensitivity, detection limit, and reproducibility.     

A Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Immunosensor for Fumonisin B1 Detection in Corn Using Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes/Chitosan

A sensitive electrochemical immunosensor was developed for detecting fumonisin B₁ (FB₁) in corn using the single‐walled carbon nanotubes/chitosan. The detection mechanism of immunosensor was based on an indirect competitive binding to a fixed amount of anti‐FB₁ between free FB₁ and FB₁‐bovine serum albumin, which was conjugated on covalently functionalized nanotubes/chitosan laid on the glass carbon electrode. The anti‐rabbit immunoglobulin G secondary antibody labeled with alkaline phosphatase was then bound to the electrode surface through reactisubstrate α‐naphthyl phosphate, which produced electrochemical signal. Under optimized conditions, this method could detect FB₁ from 0.01 to 1000 ng mL^?1 with a detection limit of 2 pg mL^?1. This is well below the detection limit required from European Union legislation, 2–4 mg L^?1. Moreover, good recoveries were obtained for the detection of spiked corn samples and actual corn samples. As the method has good sensitivity and recovery for detecting FB₁, it is a practical detection method.     

The Heterogeneity of Multiwalled and Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes: Iron Oxide Impurities Can Catalyze the Electrochemical Oxidation of Glucose

It is well established that the heterogeneity of carbon nanotubes must be determined before the origin of the electrochemical performance can be attributed. Recently it has been diligently reported that for the case of multiwalled carbon nanotube modified electrodes, copper oxide impurities are responsible for the electrochemical activity facilitating a nonenzymatic sensing strategy towards glucose. We have explored both commercially available multiwalled and single‐walled carbon nanotubes for the sensing of glucose and find that iron oxide impurities remaining from the fabrication process are the electroactive sites facilitating the nonenzymatic detection of glucose. Given that the multiwalled carbon nanotubes in this work are purchased from the same leading supplier as that used recently, discrepancies in the fabrication process exist which clearly has implications in the commercialization of electrochemical sensors based on multiwalled carbon nanotubes.     

Direct Electrochemistry of Hemoglobin on Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Carbon Ionic Liquid Electrode and Its Electrocatalysis

In this article we report on the fabrication of a carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE) by using a room temperature ionic liquid of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆) as binder. It was further modified by single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) to get a SWCNTs modified CILE denoted as SWCNTs/CILE. The redox protein of hemoglobin (Hb) was further immobilized on the surface of SWCNTs/CILE with the help of Nafion film. UV‐vis and FT‐IR spectra indicated that the immobilized Hb retained its native conformation in the composite film. The direct electrochemistry of Hb on the SWCNTs/CILE was carefully studied in pH 7.0 phosphate buffer solution (PBS). Cyclic voltammetric results indicated that a pair of well‐defined and quasireversible voltammetric peaks of Hb heme Fe(III)/Fe(II) was obtained with the formal potential (E°') at ?0.306 V (vs. SCE). The electrochemical parameters such as the electron transfer coefficient (α), the electron transfer number (n) and the apparent heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) were calculated as 0.34, 0.989 and 0.538 s^?1, respectively. The fabricated Hb modified electrode showed good electrocatalytic ability to the reduction of trichloroacetic acid (TCA) in the concentration range from 20.0 to 150.0 mmol/L with the detection limit of 10.0 mmol/L (3σ).     

Transparent and Conductive Polyethylene Oxide Film by the Introduction of Individualized Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

It is demonstrated that an optically transparent and electrically conductive polyethylene oxide (PEO) film is fabricated by the introduction of individualized single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs). The incorporated SWNTs in the PEO film sustain their intrinsic electronic and optical properties and, in addition, the intrinsic properties of the polymer matrix are retained. The individualized SWNTs with smaller diameter provide high transmittance as well as good electrical conductivity in PEO films.

     

DFT Studies of Ag‐Loading Intrinsic and Functionalized Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

The first principles study was performed on the stability of Ag adsorbed on the internal walls of single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT) and loaded on acid modified SWCNT. The calculation results show that Ag can be adsorbed stably on the internal walls of SWCNT. With the increase of SWCNT diameter, the adsorption energy increases in a certain range. Ag can also be loaded on the modified SWCNT surface in the form of COOAg and OAg groups, and COOAg group is more stable than OAg group. For either the adsorption on the inner SWCNT or the load on the modified SWCNT surface, only a small proportion of the Ag ions can be stably bonded to the walls of SWCNT.     

Voltammetric Determination of Xanthine with a Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotube‐Ionic Liquid Paste Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

Single‐walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) and room temperature ionic liquid (i.e., 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexaflourophosphate, BMIMPF₆) were used to fabricate paste modified glassy electrode (GCE). It was found that the electrode showed sensitive voltammetric response to xanthine (Xt). The detection limit was 2.0×10^?9 M and the linear range was 5.0×10^?9 to 5.0×10^?6 M. The electrode also displayed good selectivity and repeatability. In the presence of uric acid (UA) and hypoxanthine (Hx) the response of Xt kept almost unchanged. Thus this electrode could find application in the determination of Xt in some real samples. The analytical performance of the BMIMPF₆‐SWNT/GCE was demonstrated for the determination of Xt in human serum and urine samples.     

Carbon Nanotubes Fed on “Carbs”: Coating of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes by Dextran Sulfate

A facile and easily reproducible technique for assembling biohybrid nanoparticles is a core feature that is highly desired for biomedical applications, considering the nature and limited lifespan of the biopolymers used. Here we show a simple and effective method to enfold single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) using an anionic polysaccharide, dextran sulfate. After their interactions, SWNTs were rendered dispersible in aqueous solution and were shortened and unbundled to their basic dimension. Atomic force microscopy analysis was extensively employed to elucidate the mechanism of their interfacing. This biohybrid nanoparticle holds promise for biological and biomedical applications due to the synergistic unique properties of SWNTs and dextran sulfate.

     

Electrochemical Behavior and Determination of L‐Tyrosine at Single‐walled Carbon Nanotubes Modified Glassy Carbon Electrode

Based on single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE/SWCNTs), a novel method was presented for the determination of L ‐tyrosine. The GCE/SWCNTs exhibited remarkable catalytic and enhanced effects on the oxidation of L ‐tyrosine. In 0.10 mol/L citric acid‐sodium citrate buffer solution, the oxidation potential of L ‐tyrosine shifted negatively from +1.23 V at bare GCE to +0.76 V at GCE/SWCNTs. Under the optimized experimental conditions, the linear range of the modified electrode to the concentration of L ‐tyrosine was 5.0×10^?6–2.0×10^?5 mol/L (R₁=0.9952) and 2.7×10^?5–2.6×10^?4 mol/L (R₂=0.9998) with a detection limit of 9.3×10^?8 mol/L. The kinetic parameters such as α (charge transfer coefficient) and D (diffusion coefficient) were evaluated to be 0.66, 9.82×10^?5 cm² s^?1, respectively. And the electrochemical mechanism of L ‐tyrosine was also discussed.     

Paste Electrode Based on Short Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Room Temperature Ionic Liquid: Preparation,Characterization and Application in DNA Detection

A paste electrode (SWNT&RTIL PE) has been prepared using carboxylic group‐functionalized short single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) mixed with 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate (BMIMPF₆, one kind of room temperature ionic liquid, RTIL). Its electrochemical behavior was investigated by cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in comparison with the paste electrode using mineral oil as a binder. Results highlighted the advantages of the paste electrode: not only higher conductivity, but also lower potential separation (ΔE_p), higher peak current (i_p) and better reversibility towards dopamine (DA), methylene blue (MB) and K₃[Fe(CN)₆]. The SWNT&RTIL PE could be used to detect the number of guanine bases and adenine bases contents in per mol oligonucleotides according to the current response in the range of 0.05–2.0 nM. Based on the current response of guanine bases, oligonucleotides could be detected sensitively in the B–R buffer solution with a detection limit of 9.9 pM. The heterogeneous electron transfer rate constant (k_s) of guanine bases contents in the oligonucleotides was investigated and its value was 0.90 s^?1. In essence the SWNT&RTIL PE showed high sensitivity, reliability, stability and reproducibility for the detection of DNA.     

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.     

微波辅助有机过氧化物功能化修饰单壁碳纳米管

本文报道了微波辅助下,利用过氧化月桂酰分解得到的十一烷基,化学功能化修饰单壁碳纳米管。这种快速、高效的方法将反应时间缩短至10分钟,并得到了比传统回流方法具有更高接枝率的产物。利用傅立叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR),热失重分析(TGA),拉曼光谱,探究了不同的反应时间和微波功率对单壁碳纳米管的接枝率的影响。结果表明：过长的反应时间会导致部分的去功能化的发生,而过高的微波功率(大于900瓦),则会将单壁碳纳米管上起初键连上的十一烷基剥落下来。分散性照片和高分辨率透射电子显微镜(HRTEM)照片显示出,功能化后的单壁碳纳米管与原始的碳管相比,在有机溶剂中的分散性有了明显的提高。     

Electrochemical DNA Sensing at Single‐walled Carbon Nanotubes Chemically Assembled on Gold Surfaces

An electrochemical DNA sensor was constructed using single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) attached to a self‐assembled monolayer of 11‐amino‐1‐undecanethiol on a gold surface. The voltammetric peak of methylene blue (MB), which interacts with the DNA guanine bases specifically, was used to follow the DNA hybridization process. After DNA hybridization with its complementary DNA strand, the MB electrochemical signal response decreased and the change in MB signal response was used as the basis for the electrochemical sensing of DNA hybridization. The as described DNA sensor demonstrated to have good stability, selectivity, a linear response over the DNA concentration range from 100 to 1,000 nM and a limit of detection of 7.24 nM.     

单壁碳纳米管-氨基二茂铁复合物修饰玻碳电极对对硝基苯酚的电化学检测

本研究用氨基二茂铁(Aminoferrocene,AFc)经重氮化反应后修饰单壁碳纳米管(SWNTs),制备SWNTs-AFc复合物,并以该复合物修饰玻碳电极(GCE),通过循环伏安法(CV)和差分脉冲伏安法(DPV)等电化学方法检测对硝基苯酚(p-NP)。结果表明,与裸玻碳电极相比,SWNTs-AFc/GCE对p-NP响应的还原过电位显著减小,峰电流大大增强,p-NP的检测线性范围为1~850μmol/L(R2=0.997),检测限为1μmol/L。该方法电流响应快、灵敏度高、检测限低,具有良好的应用前景。     

Functionalization of Single‐Walled Carbon Nanotubes

Through chemical functionalization of single‐walled carbon nanotubes, the prerequisites for possible applications of such nanostructures are established. The derivatized tubes differ from the crude materials in their good solubility, which enables both a more extensive characterization and subsequent chemical reactivity. Current derivatization methods include defect and covalent sidewall functionalization, as well as noncovalent exo‐ and endohedral functionalization. In this way, for example, a range of nanotubes can be prepared: with sidewall substituents, wrapped with polymers, or with guest molecules included. The current state of the literature is presented in this Minireview.