Abstract
Nanoclays are widespread materials characterized by a layered structure in the nano-scale range. They have multiple applications in diverse scientific and industrial areas, mainly due to their swelling capacity, cation exchange capacity, and plasticity. Due to the cation exchange capacity, nanoclays can serve as host matrices for the stabilization of several molecules and, thus, they can be used as sensors by incorporating electroactive ions, biomolecules as enzymes, or fluorescence probes. In this review, the most recent applications as bioanalyte sensors are addressed, focusing on two main detection systems: electrochemical and optical methods. Particularly, the application of electrochemical sensors with clay-modified electrodes (CLME) for pesticide detection is described. Moreover, recent advances of both electrochemical and optical sensors based on nanoclays for diverse bioanalytes’ detection such as glucose, H2O2, organic acids, proteins, or bacteria are also discussed. As it can be seen from this review, nanoclays can become a key factor in sensors’ development, creating an emerging technology for the detection of bioanalytes, with application in both environmental and biomedical fields.
Highlights
Nanoclays represent an important type of nanomaterials with unique layered structure and ion exchange capacity, and they hold great potential for new and existing applications, in particular for the development of new nanoclay-based sensors
clay-modified electrodes (CLME) have improved stability, linear response range, and sensitivity compared to existing electrodes
Biosensors based on the incorporation of enzymes into the nanoclay structure is destined to be an emerging technology for the detection of small metabolic molecules, mainly glucose
Summary
Nanomaterials’ definition is still controversial, and scientists have not unanimously settled on a precise denotation, there is consensus that they are partially characterized by their tiny size, in the range of nanometers. Nanoclays are a broad class of natural or synthetic clay minerals with at least one dimension in the nano-range order, as defined by the EU [1] and characterized by a layered structure. They can be divided into three main classes, according to their electrochemical charge (Table 1 and Figure 1). Neutral nanoclays do not possess any charge in their layers. The second group is formed by stacking an octahedral sheet bemicas, and brittle micas. Cation exchange capacity, and plasticity are the main properties derived from the layer charge and interlayer cations that make nanoclays so useful for many applications. The resulting nanoclaymodified electrodes (CLME) and optical sensors can be used for their electro-catalytic properties or analytical applications [3,4]
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