Abstract
The demand for on-site nanodevices is constantly increasing. The technology development for the design of such devices is highly regarded. In this work, we report the design of a disposable platform that is structured with cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles (cfAuNPs) and we show its applications in immunosensing and enzyme-based detection. The electrochemical reduction of Au(III) allows for the electrodeposition of highly dispersed cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles on the surface of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). The nanostructures were functionalized using ferrocenylmethyl lipoic acid ester which allowed for the tethering of the ferrocene group to gold, which serves as an electrochemical transducer/mediator. The bioconjugation of the surface with anti-human IgG antibody (α-hIgG) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme yields biosensors, which have been applied for the selective electrochemical detection of human IgG (hIgG) or H2O2 as model analytes, respectively. Parameters such as the number of sweeps, amount of charge generated from the oxidation of the electrodeposited gold, time of incubation and concentration of the ferrocene derivatives have been studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Selectivity and specificity tests have been also performed in the presence of potentially interfering substances to either hIgG or H2O2. Results showed that the devised immunosensor is endowed with good selectivity and specificity in the presence of several folds of competitive analytes. The enzyme-based platform showed a good catalytic activity towards H2O2 oxidation which predestined it to potential applications pertaining to enzymatic kinetics studies. The levels of hIgG in human serum and H2O2 in honey were successfully determined and served as assessment tools of the applicability of the platforms for real samples analysis.
Highlights
Simplicity of design, cost-effectiveness and lightweight are among the most important requirements for the design of devices that can be used for the development of on-site analytical methods [1,2,3]
Enhancement of their detection capabilities can be achieved by modification with various types of nanomaterials to improve the electron-transfer rates between the redox center and the electrode and to procure catalytic effects which allow them in fine to reach the very low concentrations of, e.g., biologically active analytes and diseaserelated biomarkers [9,10]
Graphene functionalized with ferrocene through a ethylenediamine spacer was prepared by Fan et al and used as an efficient electron transfer (ET) shuttle to build a sensor for H2O2 [16]
Summary
Simplicity of design, cost-effectiveness and lightweight are among the most important requirements for the design of devices that can be used for the development of on-site analytical methods [1,2,3]. The amount of charge consumed during the reduction of the oxidized gold can be obtained from the surface integration of the current versus time curves (I–t curves) derived from the cyclic voltammograms which is a useful tool to estimate the effective sensing area of the as-prepared nanostructured electrodes (Figure 3b) [26].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
