Abstract
Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been widely studied and used for the construction of electrochemical biosensors owing to their small size, cylindrical shape, large surface-to-volume ratio, high conductivity and good biocompatibility. In electrochemical biosensors, CNTs serve a dual purpose: they act as immobilization support for biomolecules as well as provide the necessary electrical conductivity for electrochemical transduction. The ability of a recognition molecule to detect the analyte is highly dependent on the type of immobilization used for the attachment of the biomolecule to the CNT surface, a process also known as biofunctionalization. A variety of biofunctionalization methods have been studied and reported including physical adsorption, covalent cross-linking, polymer encapsulation etc. Each method carries its own advantages and limitations. In this review we provide a comprehensive review of non-covalent functionalization of carbon nanotubes with a variety of biomolecules for the development of electrochemical biosensors. This method of immobilization is increasingly being used in bioelectrode development using enzymes for biosensor and biofuel cell applications.
Highlights
Biosensors are devices incorporating biological elements with unique binding specificities towards target analytes
Anthracene-modified multi-walled carbon electron transfer scaffolds fortransfer enzymatic oxygenfor reduction was reported by Meredith et al The results nanotubes as direct electron scaffolds enzymatic oxygen reduction was reported by 2 hybridized carbons, giving evidence for the attachment of anthracene on revealed the increase of sp Meredith et al The results revealed the increase of sp hybridized carbons, giving evidence for the Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) surface the use[84]
Thionine in protonated form (Thi+) could be non-covalently adsorbed onto multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) sidewalls through π-π stacking [66]
Summary
Biosensors are devices incorporating biological elements with unique binding specificities towards target analytes. A typical biosensor constitutes of three components as shown, a bio-receptor called as the recognition molecule (enzyme, protein, antibody, DNA, virus, etc.), a transducer element and a signal processor [1]. The interaction between the analyte (target) and the recognition molecule is captured as a signal by the transducer which is used for detection through signal transduction. The signal transduction could be electrochemical, magnetic, optical, colorimetric or gravimetric. Biosensors could be used in food safety, drug delivery, medical diagnosis and health care, environmental monitoring and military applications [2,3,4]. Healthcare continues to be the most important application for biosensors.
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