Self‐powered polymer–metal oxide hybrid solar cell for non‐enzymatic potentiometric sensing of bilirubin

Abstract

AbstractBiofuel cell and enzyme‐based self‐powered sensors (SPS) have been reported for various metabolite sensing. However, it is essential to eliminate enzymes to reduce the cost and long‐term stability of the SPS. Here, we developed polymer (polyaniline–polyvinyl alcohol) and metal oxide (aluminium‐doped zinc oxide) hybrid solar cell self‐powered potentiometric sensor for bilirubin (BR) quantification accurately in blood. The hybrid solar device showed an open circuit potential (OCP) of 0.427 V and increases to 0.8 V upon visible light irradiation and interaction with bilirubin. The sensor shows dynamic range from 3 µg/dl to 87 mg/dl (0.05 µM–1.5 mM) with r2 0.9981 with detection limit of 1.2 ± 0.06 µg/dl. Data reading was achieved by connecting a simple multimeter without using any other active electronic components. Blood bilirubin from the jaundice patients is quantified and compared with the biochemical assay.