Recent Advances in Electrochemical Biosensors: Applications, Challenges, and Future Scope

The electrochemical biosensors are a class of biosensors which convert biological information such as analyte concentration that is a biological recognition element (biochemical receptor) into current or voltage. Electrochemical biosensors depict propitious diagnostic technology which can detect biomarkers in body fluids such as sweat, blood, feces, or urine. Combinations of suitable immobilization techniques with effective transducers give rise to an efficient biosensor. They have been employed in the food industry, medical sciences, defense, studying plant biology, etc. While sensing complex structures and entities, a large data is obtained, and it becomes difficult to manually interpret all the data. Machine learning helps in interpreting large sensing data. In the case of biosensors, the presence of impurity affects the performance of the sensor and machine learning helps in removing signals obtained from the contaminants to obtain a high sensitivity. In this review, we discuss different types of biosensors along with their applications and the benefits of machine learning. This is followed by a discussion on the challenges, missing gaps in the knowledge, and solutions in the field of electrochemical biosensors. This review aims to serve as a valuable resource for scientists and engineers entering the interdisciplinary field of electrochemical biosensors. Furthermore, this review provides insight into the type of electrochemical biosensors, their applications, the importance of machine learning (ML) in biosensing, and challenges and future outlook.

Photocatalytic, anti-bacterial performance and development of 2,4-diaminophenylhydrazine chemical sensor probe based on ternary doped Ag·SrSnO3 nanorods

Ag·SrSnO₃ NRs is an excellent photocatalyst, kills both Gram positive and Gram negative bacteria. The 2,4-DAPHyd sensor fabricated by layered Ag·SrSnO₃ NRs onto GCE shows high sensitivity (7.5854 μA μM⁻¹ cm⁻²); LDR, 0.1 nM~0.01 mM & LOD, 96.13 ± 4.81 pM.

Conducting polymer-based electrochemical biosensor for the detection of acetylthiocholine and pesticide via acetylcholinesterase

A voltammetric biosensor for acetylthiocholine (ATCh) and paraoxon detection was successfully developed. To achieve this goal, polypyrrole (PPy) was synthesized onto the platinum (Pt) electrode surface in 0.30 M oxalic acid solution containing 25 mM pyrrole. PPy-coated Pt (Pt/PPy) electrode surface was covered with chitosan (Chi) (Pt/PPy/Chi). The acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme was immobilized on the Pt/PPy/Chi electrode surface to build a voltammetric biosensor (Pt/PPy/Chi/AChE). The storage stability of the biosensor was determined to be 72% even after 60 days. The operational stability was determined to be 94% after 20 consecutive measurements. For the biosensor, the linear range was determined to be 30-50 µM for ATCh and 0.46-1.84 nM for paraoxon. The limit of detection (LOD) was determined to be 0.45 µM for ATCh and 0.17 nM for paraoxon.

Electrochemical biosensors: perspective on functional nanomaterials for on-site analysis

BACKGROUND

The electrochemical biosensor is one of the typical sensing devices based on transducing the biochemical events to electrical signals. In this type of sensor, an electrode is a key component that is employed as a solid support for immobilization of biomolecules and electron movement. Thanks to numerous nanomaterials that possess the large surface area, synergic effects are enabled by improving loading capacity and the mass transport of reactants for achieving high performance in terms of analytical sensitivity.

MAIN BODY

We categorized the current electrochemical biosensors into two groups, carbon-based (carbon nanotubes and graphene) and non-carbon-based nanomaterials (metallic and silica nanoparticles, nanowire, and indium tin oxide, organic materials). The carbon allotropes can be employed as an electrode and supporting scaffolds due to their large active surface area as well as an effective electron transfer rate. We also discussed the non-carbon nanomaterials that are used as alternative supporting components of the electrode for improving the electrochemical properties of biosensors.

CONCLUSION

Although several functional nanomaterials have provided the innovative solid substrate for high performances, developing on-site version of biosensor that meets enough sensitivity along with high reproducibility still remains a challenge. In particular, the matrix interference from real samples which seriously affects the biomolecular interaction still remains the most critical issues that need to be solved for practical aspect in the electrochemical biosensor.

Probing the Molecular Ordering and Thermal Stability of Azopolymer Layer-by-Layer Films by Second-Harmonic Generation

Polyelectrolyte layer-by-layer (LbL) films have many applications, but several parameters and procedures during film fabrication determine their morphology and molecular arrangement, with important practical consequences. Here we have used optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) to investigate the molecular ordering of LbL films containing the anionic azopolymer PS-119 and the cationic polyelectrolyte PAH. We show that spontaneous drying leads to laterally homogeneous and isotropic films, while the opposite occurs for nitrogen-flow drying. The effect of film thickness and pH of the assembling/rinsing solutions on the molecular ordering was also investigated. The optical nonlinearity tends to significantly decrease for thicker films (∼10 bilayers), and a slight alternation of SHG intensity for films with odd or even number of layers (complete vs incomplete bilayers) was also observed, which results from the reorientation of azopolymer groups in the last layer after adsorption of an additional PAH layer. We propose a qualitative electrostatic model to explain the pH dependence of film growth and azopolymer orientation, which is based on changes of the charge density of the substrate and PAH and on different ionic screening of electrostatic interactions at various pH values. We also found that the nonlinear response presents a gradual and significant reduction upon heating, which is inconsistent with a glass transition temperature for these ultrathin LbL films. The thermal stability is improved with a combination of low ionic strength and higher charge density of the polyelectrolytes and substrate, which promotes better interlayer complexation. The SHG signal is recovered upon cooling, although for some conditions the molecular arrangement became anisotropic after a heating/cooling cycle. Such detailed information about the structural order of thin nonlinear optical azopolymer LbL films demonstrates that SHG is a powerful technique to probe the film structure at the molecular level, with important consequences for their applications in optical devices.

Molecular ordering of PAH/MA-co-DR13 azopolymer layer-by-layer films probed by second-harmonic generation

Molecular orientation within azopolymer thin films is important for their nonlinear optical properties and photonic applications. We have used optical second-harmonic generation (SHG) to study the molecular orientation of Layer-by-Layer (LbL) films of a cationic polyelectrolyte (poly(allylamine hydrochloride)) and an anionic polyelectrolyte containing azochromophore side groups (MA-co-DR13) on a glass substrate. The SHG measurements indicate that there is a preferential orientation of the azochromophores in the film, leading to a significant optical nonlinearity. However, both the signal strength and its anisotropy are not homogeneous throughout the sample, indicating the presence of large orientational domains. This is corroborated with Brewster angle microscopy. The average SHG signal does not increase with film thickness, in contrast to some reports in the literature, indicating an independent orientational order for successive bilayers. Analyzing the SHG signal as a function of the input and output polarizations, a few parameters of the azochromophore orientational distribution can be deduced. Fitting the SHG signal to a simple model distribution, we have concluded that the chromophores have an angular distribution with a slight in-plane anisotropy and a mean polar angle ranging from 45° to 80° with respect to substrate normal direction, with a relatively large width of about 25°. These results show that SHG is a powerful technique for a detailed investigation of the molecular orientation in azopolymer LbL films, allowing a deeper understanding of their self-assembling mechanism and nonlinear optical properties. The inhomogeneity and anisotropy of these films may have important consequences for their applications in nonlinear optical devices.

High performance conducting polymer nanofiber biosensors for detection of biomolecules

Sensitive detection and selective determination of the physiologically important chemicals involved in brain function have drawn much attention for the diagnosis and treatment of brain diseases and neurological disorders. This paper reports a novel method for fabrication of enzyme entrapped-conducting polymer nanofibers that offer higher sensitivity and increased lifetime compared to glucose sensors that are based on conducting polymer films.

Glucose biosensor based on a glassy carbon electrode modified with polythionine and multiwalled carbon nanotubes

A novel glucose biosensor was fabricated. The first layer of the biosensor was polythionine, which was formed by the electrochemical polymerisation of the thionine monomer on a glassy carbon electrode. The remaining layers were coated with chitosan-MWCNTs, GOx, and the chitosan-PTFE film in sequence. The MWCNTs embedded in FAD were like “conductive wires” connecting FAD with electrode, reduced the distance between them and were propitious to fast direct electron transfer. Combining with good electrical conductivity of PTH and MWCNTs, the current response was enlarged. The sensor was a parallel multi-component reaction system (PMRS) and excellent electrocatalytic performance for glucose could be obtained without a mediator. The glucose sensor had a working voltage of −0.42 V, an optimum working temperature of 25°C, an optimum working pH of 7.0, and the best percentage of polytetrafluoroethylene emulsion (PTFE) in the outer composite film was 2%. Under the optimised conditions, the biosensor displayed a high sensitivity of 2.80 µA mM⁻¹ cm⁻² and a low detection limit of 5 µM (S/N = 3), with a response time of less than 15 s and a linear range of 0.04 mM to 2.5 mM. Furthermore, the fabricated biosensor had a good selectivity, reproducibility, and long-term stability, indicating that the novel CTS+PTFE/GOx/MWCNTs/PTH composite is a promising material for immobilization of biomolecules and fabrication of third generation biosensors.

Amperometric biosensor based on 3D ordered freestanding porous Pt nanowire array electrode

A three-dimensionally (3D) ordered freestanding porous platinum (Pt) nanowire array electrode (PPNWAE) with pores of several nanometers in size and a Pt nanowire array electrode (PNWAE) without pores were facilely fabricated by metal electrodeposition and direct integration with a Pt disk electrode. The unusual PPNWAE with high active area showed excellent sensitivity (0.36 mA cm(-2) mM(-1)) and a wide detection range (4.5 μM-27.1 mM) to hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)). A glucose oxidase (GOD)-based biosensor (PPNWAE/GOD) with a considerably wide detection range (4.5 μM-189.5 mM) to glucose was demonstrated. Furthermore, a lower detection limit, higher sensitivity and smaller value of Michaelis-Menten constant k(m) were recorded for PPNWAE-based biosensors compared with PNWAE-based biosensors. Particularly, the response current to glucose of PPNWAE/GOD was ca. 100% higher than that of PNWAE/GOD and the response current to H(2)O(2) of PPNWAE was ca. 50% higher than that of PNWAE, owing to the granular and rougher porous nanowire surface enabling greater bioactivity for GOD. The selectivity of PPNWAE/GOD glucose biosensor was also estimated.

Enzymatic biosensors based on SWCNT-conducting polymer electrodes

This short review is focused on recent advances in the combination of conducting polymers and SWCNTs for the fabrication of electrochemical biosensors. The different properties of conducting polymers and SWCNTs are discussed in respect of their use in immobilizing and wiring biomolecules on electrode surfaces. We further describe the functionalization techniques used in the fabrication of these devices and their associated biosensing performances.

Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase and biosensing for glucose based on graphene

We first reported that polyvinylpyrrolidone-protected graphene was dispersed well in water and had good electrochemical reduction toward O(2) and H(2)O(2). With glucose oxidase (GOD) as an enzyme model, we constructed a novel polyvinylpyrrolidone-protected graphene/polyethylenimine-functionalized ionic liquid/GOD electrochemical biosensor, which achieved the direct electron transfer of GOD, maintained its bioactivity and showed potential application for the fabrication of novel glucose biosensors with linear glucose response up to 14 mM.

ZnO-based amperometric enzyme biosensors

Nanostructured ZnO with its unique properties could provide a suitable microenvironment for immobilization of enzymes while retaining their biological activity, and thus lead to an expanded use of this nanomaterial for the construction of electrochemical biosensors with enhanced analytical performance. ZnO-based enzyme electrochemical biosensors are summarized in several tables for an easy overview according to the target biosensing analyte (glucose, hydrogen peroxide, phenol and cholesterol), respectively. Moreover, recent developments in enzyme electrochemical biosensors based on ZnO nanomaterials are reviewed with an emphasis on the fabrications and features of ZnO, approaches for biosensor construction (e.g., modified electrodes and enzyme immobilization) and biosensor performances.

Nanofibrous membrane based tyrosinase-biosensor for the detection of phenolic compounds

A tyrosinase-modified electrode is described to be used as amperometric biosensor for the detection of phenolic compounds in food. The enzyme has been immobilized by drop-coating on a glassy carbon electrode covered by a polyamidic nanofibrous membrane prepared by electrospinning. With respect to others, the selectivity of the designed tyrosinase-biosensor resulted modified by the presence of the nanostructured coating which seems to affect the permeability of phenols as a function of the pH of the solution and of their dissociation constants. The biosensor exhibits a response time of 16 s, a detection limit of 0.05 microM, and a linearity up to 100 microM (slope: -304 nA microM(-1); intercept: -191 nA, r(2)=0.996, n=19). Among others, it can be successfully used for monitoring in real time the release kinetics of phenols encapsulated in polymeric microcapsules.

Electrochemical sensors based on carbon nanotubes

This review focuses on recent contributions in the development of the electrochemical sensors based on carbon nanotubes (CNTs). CNTs have unique mechanical and electronic properties, combined with chemical stability, and behave electrically as a metal or semiconductor, depending on their structure. For sensing applications, CNTs have many advantages such as small size with larger surface area, excellent electron transfer promoting ability when used as electrodes modifier in electrochemical reactions, and easy protein immobilization with retention of its activity for potential biosensors. CNTs play an important role in the performance of electrochemical biosensors, immunosensors, and DNA biosensors. Various methods have been developed for the design of sensors using CNTs in recent years. Herein we summarize the applications of CNTs in the construction of electrochemical sensors and biosensors along with other nanomaterials and conducting polymers.