Acetone extracted propolis as a novel membrane and its application in phenol biosensors: the case of catechol

Abstract

A novel biosensor for catechol has been constructed by immobilizing polyphenol oxidase (PPO) into acetone-extracted propolis (AEP) composite modified with gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and attached to multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNTs) on a gold electrode surface. The propolis for AEP was obtained from honeybee colonies. Under the optimum conditions, this method could be successfully used for the amperometric determination of catechol within a concentration range of 1 × 10−6 to 5 × 10−4 M, with a detection limit of 8 × 10−7 M (S/N = 3). The effects of pH and operating potential are also explored to optimize the measurement conditions. The best response was obtained at pH 5, while an optimum ratio of signal-to-noise (S/N) was obtained at −20 mV (versus Ag/AgCl), which was selected as the applied potential for the amperometric measurements. All subsequent experiments were performed at pH 5. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to characterize the PPO/CNTs/GNPs/AEP/Au biosensor. The biosensor also exhibited good selectivity, stability, and reproducibility.