Hierarchically Self‐Assembled Star‐Shaped ZnO Microparticles for Electrochemical Sensing of Amines

Novel, hierarchically nanostructured, star‐shaped ZnO (SSZ) microparticles are synthesized by a hydrothermal synthetic route. The SSZ microparticles serve as effective platforms for electrochemical detection of amines in solution. The morphology and structure of the materials are characterized by X‐ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and UV/Vis spectroscopy. The as‐synthesized SSZ microparticles comprise self‐assembled hexagonal prisms that possess nanometer and micrometer pores in their structure and on their surfaces—structural features that are conducive to sensing applications. An electrode fabricated by using the hierarchically nanostructured SSZ materials serve as a sensitive electrochemical sensor for detection of low concentrations of ethylenediamine, with a sensitivity of 2.98×10^?2 mA cm^?2 mm ^?1, a detection limit of 2.36×10^?2 mm , and a short response time of 8 s.     

Constructing Netlike Nanosheets of ZnO/BiOCl with Heterojunction as Robust Material for Electrochemical Amine Detection

The electrochemical sensing is a potential method for detection of trace toxic substance. Herein, the heterojunction of netlike ZnO/BiOCl nanosheets was constructed for the enhanced electrochemical detection of ammonia. Cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry were used to investigate the electrochemical performance. The results show that the ZnO/BiOCl-modified electrode exhibits higher sensitivity towards ammonia compared with the ZnO and BiOCl-based electrodes, which is ascribed to band structure and fast electron transfer. The high response of 11.8 μA mM⁻¹ and a low detection limit (LOD) of 0.25 μM are achieved. In addition, the ZnO/BiOCl material exhibits high selectivity, repeatability and stability. The better linear relationship between concentration and current (R²=0.99) is significant for quantitative detection of ammonia, implying that netlike ZnO/BiOCl nanosheets can serve as electrochemical sensing platform for detecting toxic substance. This research provides a strategy for fabricating two-dimensional netlike materials and regulating heterojunctions used for electrochemical application.     

Application of tubular tetrapod magnesium oxide in a biosensor for hydrogen peroxide

Tubular tetrapod magnesium oxide (tt-MgO) can be synthesized by thermal evaporation of Mg metal powder with a pre-grown tetrapod ZnO template. The morphology and structure of the tt-MgO were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. A composite prepared from tt-MgO, nafion and horseradish peroxidase was employed to modify a gold electrode to result in an electrochemical biosensor for hydrogen peroxide that displays excellent sensitivity and rapid response in the presence of hydroquinone as a mediator. Its sensitivity is 335.4 μA mM^-1 cm^-2, its response is linear in the range from 1.0 to 450 μM, and the detection limit is 0.3 μM. These results demonstrate that tt-MgO provides a promising material for the designs of biosensors.

Spectroelectrochemical Evaluation of a ZnO Optically Transparent Electrode Prepared by the Spin‐spray Technique

We present a novel zinc oxide (ZnO) optically transparent electrode (OTE) prepared by the spin‐spray technique for spectroelectrochemistry. The spin‐spray technique can deposit ZnO film at a low cost, high rate deposition, and at a low temperature (<100 °C) in a single step. This new technique provides good optical transparency and electrical conductivity for ZnO. The electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical properties of the ZnO electrode were investigated for varying thicknesses of ZnO using methylene blue as a redox indicator. A ZnO OTE chip that includes three electrodes on a glass chip was developed for thin‐layer spectroelectrochemistry. Moreover, the ZnO films were successfully applied in an electrochemical‐localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) method for methylene blue detection by using them as a transparent conducting substrate for loading gold nanoparticles.     

Highly Sensitive Enzyme-free Sensor Based on a Carbon Paste Electrode Modified with Binary Zinc Oxide/Polyaniline Nanocomposites for Dopamine,Ascorbic Acid and Uric Acid Sensing

Hybrid composites ZnO/PANI were facily synthesized by a sonication process at room temperature. This procedure is non-expensive, time/energy saving and environmentally safe. The as-prepared ZnO/PANI were characterized by FTIR, UV-vis spectroscopies and SEM in order to investigate the structure and morphology of the studied composites. The samples were used to modify carbon paste electrode (CPE) in order to develop electrochemical biosensors (ZnO/PANI/CPE). The sensing properties of the nanoparticles were evaluated for dopamine, ascorbic acid and uric acid non-enzymatic detection. The effect of percentage of polyaniline in the composites and the effect of calcination on the biosensor's response were also examined in the present study. It was revealed that the existence of PANI in ZnO/PANI/CPE largely enhanced the electroactive surface area and therefore the sensitivity for electrochemical sensing. A good electrochemical behavior was noted for ZnO/40 wt% PANI-cal/CPE modified electrode toward DA, AA and UA oxidation. The electroactive surface area of the previously mentioned modified electrode (0.235 cm²) was two times higher than that of the bare electrode (0.117 cm²). The liner relationships between current intensities and concentrations were found to be 0.01–1.4 mM, 0.1–1.3 mM and 0.01–0.12 mM, with detection limit of 0.029 mM, 0.063 mM and 0.007 mM, for DA, AA and UA respectively. In the mixtures of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA) uric acid (UA) and glucose (Glu) the sensor showed high selectivity of DA with low interference of ascorbic acid by a current change of 14 %. The as-prepared ZnO/PANI/CPE biosensor displayed a good reproducibility and stability.     

Zinc Oxide Modified Au Electrode as Sensor for an Efficient Detection of Hydrazine

ZnO nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) prepared by microwave heating technique are used to modify a gold electrode (ZnO/Au) for the hydrazine detection study. The synthesized product is well characterized by various techniques. Detailed electrochemical investigation of the oxidation of hydrazine on the ZnO/Au electrode in 0.02 M phosphate buffer solution (PBS) of pH 7.4 was carried out. A very low detection limit of 66 nM (S/N=4) and a wide linearity in current for a concentration range from 66.0×10^?3 to 415 µM was achieved by amperometry. The electrode was found to be stable for over a month when preserved in PBS.     

Overview of significant examples of electrochemical sensor arrays designed for detection of nitric oxide and relevant species in a biological environment

Ultramicroelectrode sensor arrays in which each electrode, or groups of electrodes, are individually addressable are of particular interest for detection of several species concomitantly, by using specific sensing chemistry for each analyte, or for mapping of one analyte to achieve spatio–temporal analysis. Microfabrication technology, for example photolitography, is usually used for fabrication of these arrays. The most widespread geometries produced by photolithography are thin-film microdisc electrode arrays with different electrode distributions (square, hexagonal, or random). In this paper we review different electrochemical sensor arrays developed to monitor, in vivo, NO levels produced by cultured cells or sliced tissues. Simultaneous detection of NO and analytes interacting with or released at the same time as NO is also discussed.     

基于氧化锌/碳纳米纤维材料的氧氟沙星电化学传感器的构建及应用

通过静电纺丝技术合成碳纳米纤维,以循环伏安法在此碳纤维上电聚合乙酸锌制备复合纳米材料作为一种新型的电化学增敏剂,用于修饰玻碳电极,开发了一种基于碳纤维和氧化锌复合材料的新型电化学传感器(ZnO/CNF/GCE)。使用循环伏安法、差分脉冲伏安法等进行电化学催化性能的研究,并优化实验条件。结果表明,与裸电极相比,在pH 5.5磷酸盐缓冲溶液中,ZnO/CNF/GCE修饰电极能使氧氟沙星的峰电流明显提升,线性范围1~200μmol/L,检测限为0.33μmol/L。该ZnO/CNF/GCE修饰电极已用于氧氟沙星滴耳液中氧氟沙星的含量测定。     

基于超氧化物歧化酶/氧化锌的超氧离子传感器

利用物理气相沉积法制备了纳米氧化锌(Nano-ZnO) 膜, 通过扫描电子显微镜(SEM)、紫外-可见分光光度法(UV-Vis)、X 射线衍射(XRD)及电化学等方法测定了其物理化学性质. 实验结果表明, 该Nano-ZnO 膜是具有多晶六边形纤维锌矿结构的多孔纳米膜, 微粒直径在 50～100 nm, 室温禁带宽度3.37 eV. 采用浸渍法将超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)直接修饰于 Nano-ZnO 膜上, 制备了SOD 修饰电极(SOD/ZnO). 通过交流阻抗法(EIS)及循环伏安法(CV)证明了SOD能稳定地吸附在多孔ZnO膜上, 并实现了直接电子传递; 紫外-可见及红外光谱研究证明吸附在ZnO膜上的蛋白质保持了良好的生物催化活性, 并成功地构建了第三代超氧离子(O2-)生物传感器. 这种生物传感器有较宽的线性范围(氧化电流: 0.24~180×10-6 mol/L, 还原电流: 0.12~250×10-6 mol/L)、较低的检测限(氧化电流: 2×10-7 mol/L, 还原电流: 1×10-7 mol/L)、较快的响应时间(4 s)以及较好的稳定性.     

The study of synergistic effects of ZnO decorated graphene nanosheets and room temperature ionic liquid for analysis of raloxifene in pharmaceutical samples

Raloxifene is an important estrogen receptor modulator with many side effects, and determination of this drug is very important in biological samples. The present research describes a ZnO decorated graphene nanosheet (ZnO/GrNS)/ionic liquid based electrochemical sensor for the measurement of raloxifene. The ZnO/GrNS were synthesized via direct chemical precipitation process and characterized using the SEM-EDAX technique. Due to excellent conductivity of ZnO/GrNS and ionic liquid, the suggested electrochemical sensor exhibited improved electrochemical response for raloxifene. After optimization of electrochemical conditions and at the best state, the fabricated electrode displayed two linear dynamic ranges (1.0?×?10^?10–5.0?×?10^?6 and 1.0?×?10^?6–5.0?×?10^?4 M) with a detection limit (DL) of 0.07 nM. Quantification analysis of raloxifene was successfully evaluated using the suggested sensor in pharmaceutical samples.     

Fabrication and characterization of boron doped diamond microelectrode arrays of varied geometry

Boron doped diamond (BDD) is a well-known electrode material that exhibits an excellent electrochemical potential window with very low background current. With this, microelectrodes and microelectrode arrays (MEAs) have been found to even further lower background currents without compromising sensitivity. As such, BDD MEAs are excellent electrode materials for a variety of electroanalytical applications, capable of multi-mode detection. We fabricated BDD MEAs adapting traditional semiconductor microfabrication processes; the resulting MEAs were patterned in different geometries to find an optimum electrochemical response, depending on the application. This is demonstrated using 4 different MEA geometries of different size and spacing using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), where the charge transfer resistance (R_ct) increases as the electrodes are farther spaced from one another. Excellent sigmoidal voltammogram shape in CV was obtained for each BDD MEA geometry. BDD MEAs spaced farther from one another were found to give better resolution from the background in fast scan cyclic voltammetric measurements of dopamine due to the decrease in the double layer capacitance (C_dl) as verified with EIS. This work furthers the understanding of BDD MEAs and their pertinence to sensitive electroanalytical techniques.     

基于铂纳米颗粒@金属有机骨架纳米模拟酶的无标记电化学赭曲霉毒素适体传感器的构建

以具有类过氧化物酶性质的Pt NPs@Mn-MOF纳米复合材料作为电极基底, 采用丝网印刷电极构建了一种无标记型电化学适体传感器, 用于赭曲霉毒素(OTA)的检测. 利用Pt NPs@Mn-MOF的模拟酶特性, 将其作为电极基底用于捕获OTA适体链, 同时催化H₂O₂还原产生电流响应信号. OTA的引入会减少纳米酶的催化活性位点, 从而导致电流信号降低. 在0.01~300 ng/mL范围内, 随着OTA浓度的增加, 电流响应值逐渐降低; 采用计时电流法检测电流响应信号, 从而间接实现了对OTA的定量检测. 此外, 该生物传感器通过U盘式小型工作站进行检测, 不仅可与电脑连接进行检测, 还可与手机连接进而实现实时检测, 并且其检测灵敏度高、 重现性好, 检出限低至3.33 pg/mL(S/N=3). 该传感器可用于真实玉米样品中OTA的检测, 在真菌毒素现场检测中展现出潜在的应用价值.     

Combination of amperometric detector & UV detector for capillary electrophoresis

A new electrochemical cell assembly with the combination of UV and amperometric detector (AD) based on their complementarity was described. A Nafion tubing junction was used to decouple the high voltage from the separation capillary in the rear of on-column UV detector. In this mode, the electroactive and inert compounds could be detected by UV and AD at the same time. Aromatic amines were determined with the UV and the end-column AD detection to evaluate the performances of the cell assembly. Such an improved electrochemical detector could match the capillary with different diameters. By simple adjustment of the screws, the positioning of the working electrode and the detection capillary was easily gained without microscope. It is also very easy to assemble and disassemble the working electrode when needed.     

An SKP and EIS investigation of amine adsorption on zinc oxide surfaces

A metal/oxide/polymer ‘interphase’ with mixed organic–inorganic nature insures the high stability and the strength of the adhesive joints in a variety of corrosive environments. To model the interaction of epoxy resin with a metal surface, the interaction of amines of different structure with oxidized zinc surfaces was studied by Scanning Kelvin Probe (SKP), FTIR microscopy in atmospheric conditions, and a.c. and d.c. electrochemical techniques in the aqueous electrolyte. It was shown that bidentate ligand‐ethylendiamine, forming stable chelate complexes reacts with zinc oxide with redeposition of the interphase. In air and water electrolyte, this ligand shifts the potential of Zn/ZnO electrode to the level of the oxide‐free zinc. The amines with low chelating property show low effect on the potential of Zn/ZnO. The SKP was used to measure the potential drop at epoxy resin/zinc interface. On this basis, SKP is proposed as a sensitive nondestructive technique to characterize in situ the interaction of the resin with the metal and the subsequent formation of the interphase in the metal–polymer joints. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Amine oxidase amperometric biosensor coupled to liquid chromatography for biogenic amines determination

A selective and sensitive method is presented for biogenic amines (BA) determination. The novelty consists in coupling a highly selective electrochemical biosensor to a weak acid cation-exchange column for online detection of amines. A bienzyme design, based on a recently isolated amine oxidase from grass pea and commercial horseradish peroxidase, was used for the biosensor construction. The enzymes were co-immobilized on the surface of a graphite electrode together with the electrochemical mediator (Os-redox polymer). The electrochemical detection was performed at a low applied potential (?50 mV vs. Ag/AgCl, KCl_0.1 M), where biases from interferences are minimal. The separation and determination of six BA, with relevance in food analysis (tyramine, putrescine, cadaverine, histamine, agmatine and spermidine), were investigated. Irrespective of the BA nature, the amine oxidase-based biosensor showed a linear response up to 5 mM, and its sensitivity decreases in the following order: cadaverine, putrescine, spermidine, agmatine, histamine and tyramine. The approach was used to estimate the BA content in fish samples, after their extraction with methanesulfonic acid.     

Amperometric detection of amines using cobalt electrodes after separation by ion-moderated partition chromatography

A simple and low-cost amperometric sensor for amines has been developed using a cobalt wire electrode working in alkaline solution. The sensor may be used as a detector for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) that avoids the need for derivatization or post-column reaction. Experimental conditions for flow injection analysis (FIA) and HPLC separation, including the applied potential, pH and concentrations of organic modifier and carrier solution, were optimized. A cobalt wire electrode, in the constant potential amperometric mode, gives an excellent response toward amines in ion-exclusion chromatography in unbuffered solution. The sensitivities of the detection and separation of amines on the column are affected by flow rate, the concentration of the mobile phase and the concentration of organic solvent in the mobile phase, whereas the applied potential only affects the sensitivity of the detector. A cobalt electrode is more sensitive than a copper electrode, and comparable in sensitivity to a UV detector for most amines tested. The detection sensitivity is comparable to that obtained with GC methods, but the procedures are far simpler. The detection limits of the order of nanomoles obtained under the chromatographic conditions used offer an alternative for the determination of amines in a variety of matrices, such as in environmental, biomedical and pharmaceutical samples.     

Kaolinite-based Hybrid Material from Interlayer Grafting of 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)piperazine and Application to the Sensitive Voltammetric Detection of Lead

This work describes the synthesis of an organo-inorganic hybrid material and its application as low-cost electrode material for the electrochemical detection of trace levels of lead in contaminated water. The organo-inorganic hybrid material was obtained by the grafting of 1-(2-hydroxyethylpiperazine) (HEP) in the interlayer space of a natural kaolinite (K). The obtained organokaolinite (K-HEP) was characterized by XRD, FTIR and TGA-DTG techniques. XRD results in particular showed that the structure of the pristine kaolinite was not affected during the synthesis of K-HEP. It was also noticed from ¹³C NMR data that the structure of HEP was preserved during the synthesis process. Taking into account the affinity of the amine group on HEP molecule for lead ions, K-HEP was used to modify the surface of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) (GCE/K-HEP) in order to build a sensor for lead detection. The peak current of Pb(II) recorded on GCE/K-HEP was more intense compared to the signal recorded on bare GCE, and on natural kaolinite film modified GCE. Several parameters that can affect the stripping response were systematically investigated to optimize the sensitivity of the organokaolinite film modified electrode. Under optimized conditions, a calibration curve was obtained in the concentration range from 8.29 to 116.03 ppb; with a detection limit of 0.25 ppb (S/N=3). After the study of some interfering species on the electrochemical response of Pb(II), the developed sensor was successfully applied to the quantification of the same pollutant in tap water and spring water samples.     

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.     

Electrochemical determination of sulfide at various carbon substrates: a comparative study.

The direct electrochemical oxidation of sodium sulfide has been examined at five different carbon-based electrode substrates (glassy carbon (GC), boron-doped diamond (BDD), edge-plane pyrollytic graphite (EPPG), basal-plane pyrollytic graphite (BPPG) and carbon nanotubes (CNT)). An electrocatalytic response is observed at both the EPPG and CNT electrode compared to that of the other three substrates. The higher capacitative charging currents obtained at the CNT electrode hinder its detection range and, as such, the EPPG electrode has been clearly shown to be the substrate of choice for the direct electrochemical detection of sulfide. The procedure was applied to the recovery of a sulfide spike in river water, with a recovery of 104%.     

Three‐Dimensional Structures of Nanoporous NiO/ZnO Nanoarray Films for Enhanced Electrochromic Performance

An electrochromic device with the as‐obtained nanoporous NiO /ZnO nanoarray as a working electrode was constructed and assembled. The nanoporous NiO/ZnO nanoarray film with a three‐dimensional structure was prepared on indium tin oxide (ITO) glass substrate through a two‐step route that combined chemical bath deposition method with a hydrothermal method. The nanoporous NiO/ZnO nanoarray electrode reveals a noticeable improvement in electrochromism compared with that of nanoporous NiO alone, including higher optical modulation (81 %), higher coloration efficiency (78.5 cm² C^?1), faster response times (2.6 and 9.7 s for coloring and bleaching, respectively), and favorable durability performance. Such enhancements are mainly attributed to the three‐dimensional structures of nanoporous NiO coated on ZnO nanoarray, namely, 1) the uniform hexagonal ZnO nanoarray loads more nanoporous NiO, 2) nanoporous NiO cross‐linked with ZnO nanorods provides a loose interspace morphology, 3) stronger adhesion between ZnO nanorods and ITO covered with ZnO seed, 4) core–shell and cross‐linked structures promote electrolyte infiltration, and 5) appropriate band gaps improve charge transfer.