Graphene Based Electrochemical Sensors and Biosensors: A Review

Graphene, emerging as a true 2‐dimensional material, has received increasing attention due to its unique physicochemical properties (high surface area, excellent conductivity, high mechanical strength, and ease of functionalization and mass production). This article selectively reviews recent advances in graphene‐based electrochemical sensors and biosensors. In particular, graphene for direct electrochemistry of enzyme, its electrocatalytic activity toward small biomolecules (hydrogen peroxide, NADH, dopamine, etc.), and graphene‐based enzyme biosensors have been summarized in more detail; Graphene‐based DNA sensing and environmental analysis have been discussed. Future perspectives in this rapidly developing field are also discussed.     

Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Layer‐by‐Layer Assemblies

Layer‐by‐layer (LBL) assemblies, which have undergone great progress in the past decades, have been used widely in the construction of electrochemical biosensors. The LBL assemblies provide a strategy to rationally design the properties of immobilized films and enhance the performance of biosensors. The following review focuses on the application of LBL assembly technique on electrochemical enzyme biosensors, immunosensors and DNA sensors.     

Multioperational Oxidase Biosensors Based on Carbosilane Dendrimers with Interacting Ferrocenes

The bioelectrocatalytical properties and kinetic characteristics of new oxidase biosensors based on two different carbosilane dendrimers are described. The best glucose biosensor developed displayed, in an ascorbate interference free work potential interval, a strictly linear range from 0 to 4.0 mM, a detection limit of 40,6 μM and a response time less than 3 s. The lactate biosensor displayed a linear range from 0 to 0.8 mM, a detection limit of 0.73 µM and a response time less than 2 s. The apparent Michaelis–Menten constants were calculated to be 4.39 mM and 2.08 mM respectively, according to Lineweaver–Burk equation.     

Single‐walled Carbon Nanotube Strings for Biosensor Development

Strings of single‐walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) were prepared using an aqueous dispersion of gellan gum wrapped nanotubes and crosslinked using Ca²⁺ ions. Various formulations were evaluated to determine the parameters for successful string formation; these included 8–12 % nanotube by weight, 60–70 % gellan gum, and 20–30 % KCl. Strings showed electrical conductivity when dried between ITO electrodes. Conductivity variations were observed and potential sources of the variation identified. Proteins were attached to the carbon nanotube strings with peroxidase enzymatic activity detected following horseradish peroxidase attachment. This work provides a basis for development of electronic biosensors based on these carbon nanotube strings.     

Nanowire‐Based Electrochemical Biosensors

We review recent advances in biosensors based on one‐dimensional (1‐D) nanostructure field‐effect transistors (FET). Specifically, we address the fabrication, functionalization, assembly/alignment and sensing applications of FET based on carbon nanotubes, silicon nanowires and conducting polymer nanowires. The advantages and disadvantages of various fabrication, functionalization, and assembling procedures of these nanosensors are reviewed and discussed. We evaluate how they have been used for detection of various biological molecules and how such devices have enabled the achievement of high sensitivity and selectivity with low detection limits. Finally, we conclude by highlighting some of the challenges researchers face in the 1‐D nanostructures research arena and also predict the direction toward which future research in this area might be directed.     

Nanocomposite Carbon‐PDMS Material for Chip‐Based Electrochemical Detection

This paper presents an alternative approach to create low‐cost and patternable carbon electrodes suitable for microfluidic devices. The fabrication and the electrochemical performances of electrodes made of Polydimethylsiloxane doped with commercially available carbon black (C‐PDMS) are described. Conductivity and electrochemical measurements performed on various carbon to PDMS ratios showed that electrodes with suitable electrochemical properties were obtained with a ratio of 25 %.     

An Electrochemical Sensor Based on Carbon Nanotube Bimetallic Au‐Pt Inorganic‐Organic Nanofiber Hybrid Nanocomposite Electrode Applied for Detection of Guaifenesin

A glassy carbon electrode modified with carbon nanotube and bimetallic inorganic‐organic nanofiber hybrid nanocomposite was prepared and used for determination of trace levels of guaifenesin. A modified glassy carbon electrode was developed for the rapid, selective, sensitive and low cost monitoring of guaifenesin. Oxidation of guaifenesin on the surface of the modified electrode was investigated with differential pulse voltammetry and the results showed that the modified electrode remarkably improved sensitivity and selectivity for the electrochemical assay of guaifenesin. Detection limit and quantitation limit were found to be 0.0175 µM and 0.0583 µM, respectively.     

Response Behavior of Amperometric Glucose Biosensors Based on Different Carbon Substrate Transducers Coated with Enzyme‐Active Layer: A Comparative Study

Carbon electrodes (glassy carbon, GC, screen‐printed carbon, SPC, and carbon fiber, CF) were used as substrate transducers to prepare glucose biosensors of different sizes and geometries, based on iron‐ruthenium hexacyanoferrate as H₂O₂ reduction mediator and glucose oxidase immobilized in a poly(1,2‐phenylenediamine) membrane. Their response behavior under hydrodynamic amperometric conditions at an operating potential of ?0.02 V vs. Ag/AgCl was studied and compared. While the GC and SPC based conventional size biosensors showed enzymatic catalysis controlled current response with nonlinear concentration dependence, the CF based micro‐biosensor exhibited, due to diffusion‐controlled current response, extended linear range calibration curves with relatively lower sensitivity and longer response times. Several preparation parameters responsible for the improvement of biosensor performance were also investigated.     

One‐Step Electrochemically Deposited Nanocomposite Film of CS‐Fc/MWNTs/GOD for Glucose Biosensor Application

A simple and controllable electrodeposition approach was proposed for one‐step construction of glucose biosensors by in situ co‐deposition of ferrocene‐branched chitosan derivatives (CS‐Fc), multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs), and glucose oxidase (GOD) onto electrode surface. The formation of CS‐Fc could not only effectively prevent the leakage of Fc and retain its electrochemical activity, but also provide a biocompatible microenvironment for retaining the native activity of the immobilized biomolecules. Further entrapment of MWNTs into the CS matrix improved electronic conductivity of the biocomposite significantly. The facile procedure of immobilizing GOD and the promising feature of biocomposite will offer a versatile platform to fabricate biosensors and bioelectronic devices.     

Engineered Nanomaterial Assisted Signal‐amplification Strategies for Enhancing Analytical Performance of Electrochemical Biosensors

The design and development of modern biosensors for sensitive and selective detection of various biomarkers is important in diversified arenas including healthcare, environment, and food industries etc. The requirement of more robust and reliant biosensors lead to the development of various sensing modules. The nanomaterials having specific optical, electrical, and mechanical strength can pave the way towards development of ultrafast, robust, and miniaturized modules for biosensors. It can provide not only the point‐of‐care applicability but also has tremendous commercial as well as industrial justification. In order to improve the performance of the sensor systems, various nanostructure materials have been readily studied and applied for development of novel biosensors. In the last few years, researchers are engaged on harnessing the unique atomic and molecular properties of advance‐engineered materials including carbon nanotubes, graphene nanosheets, metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, and their nano‐conjugates. In view of such recent developments in nanomaterial engineering, the current review has been formulated emphasizing the role of these materials in surface engineering, biomolecule conjugation, and signal amplification for development of various ultrasensitive and robust biosensors having commercial as well as industrial viability. Attention is given on the electrochemical biosensors incorporating various nanomaterials and their conjugates. Importance of nanomaterials in the analytical performance of the various biosensor has also been discussed. To put a perceptive insights on the importance of various nanomaterials, an extended table is incorporated, which includes probe design, analyte, LOD, and dynamic range of various electrochemical biosensors.     

Strategy for Low Background‐Current Levels in the Electrochemical Biosensors Using Horse‐Radish Peroxidase Labels

This article describes an electrochemical strategy to achieve low background‐current levels in horse‐radish peroxidase (HRP)‐based electrochemical immunosensors. The strategy consists of (i) the use of an HRP substrate/product redox couple whose formal potential is high and (ii) the use of an electrode that shows moderate electrocatalytic activity for the redox couple. The strategy is proved by a model biosensor using a catechol/o‐benzoquinone redox couple and an indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode. The combined effect of high formal potential and moderate electrocatalytic activity allows o‐benzoquinone electroreduction with minimal catechol electrooxidation and H₂O₂ electroreduction. The detection limit for mouse‐IgG is 100 pg/mL.     

基于碳纳米管的化学修饰电极及电化学生物传感器的研究进展

综述了碳纳米管的结构、合成、纯化、功能化、分散及基于碳纳米管的化学修饰电极和电化学生物传感器的研究进展。     

Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes Covalently Functionalized with Polylysine: Synthesis,Characterization and Analytical Applications for the Development of Electrochemical (Bio)Sensors

This work reports the synthesis of single‐wall carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) covalently functionalized with polylysine (Plys) and the analytical performance of glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) modified with this material (GCE/SWCNT‐Plys). The resulting electrodes showed an important decrease in the overvoltages for the oxidation of ascorbic acid, uric acid and hydrogen peroxide as well as for the reduction of hydrogen peroxide. The favorable interaction of glucose oxidase (GOx) with SWCNT‐Plys allowed the sensitive and selective glucose biosensing at ?0.100 V without any permselective membrane. The proposed sensor was challenged with different real samples without pretreatment showing an excellent correlation with the reported values.     

Electrochemical Detection of DNA Hybridization Based on the Probe Labeled with Carbon‐Nanotubes Loaded with Silver Nanoparticles

A sensitive electrochemical method for the detection of DNA hybridization based on the probe labeled with multiwall carbon‐nanotubes (MWNTs) loaded with silver nanoparticles (Ag‐MWNTs) has been developed. MWNTs were electroless‐plated with a large number of silver nanoparticles to form Ag‐MWNTs. Probe single strand DNA (ss‐DNA) with a thiol group at the 3′‐terminal labeled with Ag‐MWNTs by self‐assembled monolayer (SAM) technique was employed as an electrochemical probe. Target ss‐DNA with a thiol group was immobilized on a gold electrode by SAM technique and then hybridized with the electrochemical probe. Binding events were monitored by differential pulse voltammetric (DPV) signal of silver nanoparticles. The signal difference permitted to distinguish the match of two perfectly complementary DNA strands from the near perfect match where just three base pairs were mismatched. There was a linear relation between the peak current at +120 mV (vs. SCE) and complementary target ss‐DNA concentration over the range from 3.1×10^?14 to 1.0×10^?11 mol/L with a detection limit of 10 fmol/L of complementary target ss‐DNA. The proposed method has been successfully applied to detection of the DNA sequence related to cystic fibrosis. This work demonstrated that the MWNTs loaded with silver nanoparticles offers a great promising approach for sensitive detection of DNA hybridization.     

A Mediator‐Free Bienzyme Amperometric Biosensor Based on Horseradish Peroxidase and Glucose Oxidase Immobilized on Carbon Nanotube Modified Electrode

Multiwalled carbon nanotube (CNT) modified glassy carbon electrode immobilized with horseradish peroxidase (HRP) in Nafion coating showed direct electron transfer between HRP enzyme and the CNT‐modified electrode. A mediator‐free bienzyme glucose biosensor based on horseradish peroxidase and glucose oxidase was constructed. The bienzyme biosensor exhibited a high sensitivity for glucose detection at zero applied potential.     

Electrochemical Biosensors Based on Micro-fabricated Devices for Point-of-Care Testing: A Review

Point-of-care testing (POCT) is becoming a hot research topic that allows rapid, on-site, and non-professional measurements outside the central laboratory. The micro-fabricated devices prepared by various micro-machining technologies have shown the advantages of low reagent consumption, high-throughput samples, and wearability. This review presents the recent progress of electrochemical biosensors based on various micro-fabricated devices for POCT and the corresponding electrochemical techniques. Signal amplification strategies based on enzyme and nanotechnology are also illustrated for the more sensitive POCT applications of these micro-fabricated devices. Consequently, the trends and challenges of electrochemical biosensors based on micro-fabricated devices in POCT diagnosis are discussed.     

Electrochemical Nucleic Acid Biosensors for the Detection of Interaction Between Peroxynitrite and DNA

We studied the reactivity of peroxynitrite and different nucleic acid molecules using DNA electrochemical biosensors. SIN‐1 (3‐morpholinosydnonimine) has been used for the simultaneous generation of NO?and superoxide, i.e., as a peroxynitrite (ONOO^?) donor. Double strand DNA (dsDNA), single strand DNA (ssDNA) and 15 guanine bases oligonucleotide (Oligo(dG)₁₅) were immobilized on a carbon paste electrode to generate the biosensor and DPV was selected as the electroanalytical technique. Results showed that electrochemical biosensors were very sensitive for detecting interaction between ONOO^? and DNA. A down/up effect was observed, i.e., at low ONOO^? concentrations the guanine oxidation signal decreased while at high ONOO^? concentrations the guanine oxidation current increased. Oligo(dG)₁₅ exhibited greater interaction at low ONOO^? concentrations than the other DNA molecules. The reactivity between ONOO^? and DNA was also evaluated in solution phase, showing the same down/up effect. Finally, the capacity of DNA to hybridize was prevented after interaction with ONOO^?.     

Electrochemical Activity Studies of Glucose Oxidase (GOx)‐Based and Pyranose Oxidase (POx)‐Based Electrodes in Mesoporous Carbon: Toward Biosensor and Biofuel Cell Applications

A simple study using a fixed amount of mesoporous carbon (MSU‐F‐C) was performed for the comparison of pyranose oxidase (POx) and glucose oxidase (GOx) in their electrochemical performance under biosensor and biofuel cell operating modes. Even though the ratio of POx to GOx in the glucose oxidation activity per unit weight of MSU‐F‐C was 0.35, the ratios of POx to GOx in sensitivity and power density were reversed to be 6.2 and 1.4, respectively. POx with broad substrate specificity and an option of large scale production using recombinant E. coli has a great potential for various electrochemical applications, including biofuel cells.     

Electrochemical DNA Biosensors Based on Palladium Nanoparticles Combined with Carbon Nanotubes

Palladium nanoparticles, in combination with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), were used to fabricate a sensitivity‐enhanced electrochemical DNA biosensor. MWCNTs and palladium nanoparticles were dispersed in Nafion, which were used to modify a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). Oligonucleotides with amino groups at the 5′ end were covalently linked onto carboxylic groups of MWCNTs on the electrode. The hybridization events were monitored by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) measurement using methylene blue (MB) as an indicator. Due to the ability of carbon nanotubes to promote electron‐transfer and the high catalytic activities of palladium nanoparticles for electrochemical reaction of MB, the sensitivity of presented electrochemical DNA biosensors was remarkably improved. The detection limit of the method for target DNA was 1.2×10^?13 M.     

Multiwall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) Based Electrochemical Biosensors for Mediatorless Detection of Putrescine

γ‐Aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES)‐induced solubilization of multi‐wall carbon nanotube CNTs allowed for the modification of electrode surfaces. APTES also served as an immobilization matrix for putrescine oxidase (POx) to construct an amperometric biosensor. Although CNTs modified by APTES acted as semiconductors to reduce the exposed sensing surface, we reasoned that nanoscale “dendrites” of CNTS modified by APTES formed a network and projected outwards from the electrode surface and acted like bundled ultra‐microelectrodes that allowed access to the active site and facilitated direct electron transfer to the immobilized enzyme. Our biosensor was able to efficiently monitor direct electroactivity of POx at the electrode surface. The putrescine biosensor prepared using the modified glassy carbon electrode exhibited current response within 10 s with a detection limit of 500 nM.