Abstract
The future of analytical devices, namely (bio)sensors, which are currently impacting our everyday life, relies on several metrics such as low cost, high sensitivity, good selectivity, rapid response, real-time monitoring, high-throughput, easy-to-make and easy-to-handle properties. Fortunately, they can be readily fulfilled by electrochemical methods. For decades, electrochemical sensors and biofuel cells operating in physiological conditions have concerned biomolecular science where enzymes act as biocatalysts. However, immobilizing them on a conducting substrate is tedious and the resulting bioelectrodes suffer from stability. In this contribution, we provide a comprehensive, authoritative, critical, and readable review of general interest that surveys interdisciplinary research involving materials science and (bio)electrocatalysis. Specifically, it recounts recent developments focused on the introduction of nanostructured metallic and carbon-based materials as robust “abiotic catalysts” or scaffolds in bioelectrochemistry to boost and increase the current and readout signals as well as the lifetime. Compared to biocatalysts, abiotic catalysts are in a better position to efficiently cope with fluctuations of temperature and pH since they possess high intrinsic thermal stability, exceptional chemical resistance and long-term stability, already highlighted in classical electrocatalysis. We also diagnosed their intrinsic bottlenecks and highlighted opportunities of unifying the materials science and bioelectrochemistry fields to design hybrid platforms with improved performance.
Highlights
The field of biosensors, analytical devices which are used to determine the presence and amount of specific analytes in a biological matrix, has attracted much attention within the last quarter century because of the fundamental questions and the potentially practical applications in our everyday life
With the buzzword “bioelectronics”, which aims to highlight that the world of electronics can be combined with biology and biotechnology [1,2], our daily life is impacted by various specific biosensors developed for clinical diagnosis such as glucose monitoring in diabetic patients, detection of pathogens, food analysis, determination of drug residues in food such as antibiotics and growth promoters, environmental applications, homeland security
One understands a self-containing integrated device based on the measurement of an electrochemical signal, i.e., the current resulting from the oxidation or reduction of an electroactive biological element providing specific quantitative analytical information
Summary
The field of biosensors, analytical devices which are used to determine the presence and amount of specific analytes in a biological matrix, has attracted much attention within the last quarter century because of the fundamental questions and the potentially practical applications in our everyday life. Glucose oxidation is useful for blood glucose monitoring but may be applied to other areas such as industrial processes (e.g., the food industry), and the development of fuel cells and batteries. In these cases, assays should be extended to other carbohydrates of interest such as lactose, maltose, etc. The overall aim of the review is not to oppose enzymatic catalysis to abiotic catalysis, but to discuss how nanostructured inorganic materials can boost the field of sensors (restricted to glucose and hydrogen peroxide, given their paramount importance in biochemical reactions) and fuel cells utilizing molecules that can be vastly found in biological systems. Third-generation sensors) and non-enzymatic (so-called “fourth-generation” sensors)
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