A flexible carbon nanofiber and conjugated polymer-based electrode for glucose sensing

Abstract

Herein, a specific and stable biosensor for glucose using a flexible, modified electrode with a carbon nanofiber (CNF) and a novel conjugated polymer including three moieties of benzotriazole, benzodithiophene, and benzenediamine (P-BDT-BTz:BDA) as a platform was designed. For this purpose, polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofiber mats were obtained by a solution-based electrospinning method. PAN nanofiber mats were stabilized and carbonized to turn into carbon nanofibers and the sensing platform was formed by combining the nanofibers on a defined area of a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. In addition, a random conjugated polymer, P-BDT-BTz:BDA, was synthesized, characterized, and used as a modifier of a CNF-coated transducer surface for glucose detection. The effect of each parameter on biosensor response was evaluated. Under optimized conditions, the electrode responded to glucose in a linear concentration range of 20 µM to 500 µM with a detection limit of 8.5 µM. In addition, it was observed that the designed biosensor has a good sensing ability for glucose in beverages. The results of our study show that the proposed amperometric glucose oxidase (GOx)-based biosensor has high specificity, a low limit of detection, and an extended range of linear detection for glucose.