A novel biosensor based on electro-co-deposition of sodium alginate-Fe3O4-graphene composite on the carbon ionic liquid electrode for the direct electrochemistry and electrocatalysis of myoglobin

Traditional methods and biosensors for detecting disinfection by-products in water: A review

In recent years, pollution caused by disinfection by-products (DBPs) has become a global concern. Initially, there were fewer contaminants, and the mechanism of their generation was unclear; however, the number of contaminants has increased exponentially as a result of rapid industrialization and numerous economic activities (e.q., during the outbreak of COVID-19 a surge in the use of chlorinated disinfectants was observed). DBP toxicity results in various adverse health effects and organ failure in humans. In addition, it profoundly affects other forms of life, including animals, plants, and microorganisms. This review comprehensively discusses the pre-treatment methods of traditional and emerging DBPs and the technologies applied for their detection. Additionally, this paper provides a detailed discussion of the principles, applicability, and characteristics of traditional large-scale instrumentation methods (such as gas/liquid/ion chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry) for detecting DBPs based on their respective detection techniques. At the same time, the design, functionality, classification, and characteristics of rapid detection technologies (such as biosensors) are also detailed and analyzed.

Zinc Oxide–Graphene Nanocomposite-Based Sensor for the Electrochemical Determination of Cetirizine

A nanocomposite electrode of graphene (Gr) and zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles was fabricated to study the electrochemical oxidation behavior of an anti-inflammatory drug, i.e., cetirizine (CET). The voltametric response of CET for bare CPE, Gr/CPE, ZnO/CPE, and the ZnO-Gr nanocomposite electrode was studied. The modifier materials were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) to comprehend the surface morphology of the utilized modifiers. The influence of pH, scan rate, and accumulation time on the electrooxidation of CET was examined. It was found that the electrochemical oxidation of CET was diffusion-controlled, in which two protons and two electrons participated. The detection limit was found to be 2.8 × 10−8 M in a linearity range of 0.05–4.0 µM. Study of excipients was also performed, and it was found that they had negligible interference with the peak potential of CET. The validation and utility of the fabricated nanocomposite sensor material were examined by analyzing clinical and biological samples. Stability testing of the nanocomposite electrode was conducted to assess the reproducibility, determining that the developed biosensor has good stability and high efficiency in producing reproducible results.

Carbon Nitride Nanosheet and Myoglobin Modified Electrode for Electrochemical Sensing Investigations

Background:

Carbon-based nanomaterials, especially carbon nitride (C3N4) has attracted tremendous interest in biosensor applications. Meanwhile, the mechanism of redox protein sensing and related electrocatalytic reactions can provide a valid basis for understanding the process of biological redox reaction.

Objective:

The aim of this paper is to construct a new electrochemical enzyme sensor to achieve direct electron transfer of myoglobin (Mb) on CILE surface and display electrocatalytic reduction activity to catalyze trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and H2O2.

Methods:

The working electrode was fabricated based on ionic liquid modified Carbon Paste Electrode (CILE) and C3N4 nanosheets were modified on the CILE surface, then Mb solution was fixed on C3N4/CILE surface and immobilized by using Nafion film. The as-prepared biosensor displayed satisfactory electrocatalytic ability towards the reduction of TCA and H2O2 in an optimum pH 7.0 buffer solution.

Results:

The results indicated that C3N4 modified electrode retained the activity of the enzyme and displayed quasi-reversible redox behavior in an optimum pH 7.0 buffer solution. The electrochemical parameters of the immobilized Mb on the electrode surface were further calculated with the results of the electron transfer number (n) as 1.27, the charge transfer coefficient (α) as 0.53 and the electrontransfer rate constant (ks) as 3.32 s-1, respectively. The Nafion/Mb/C3N4/CILE displayed outstanding electrocatalytic reduction activity to catalyze trichloroacetic acid and H2O2.

Conclusion:

The Nafion/Mb/C3N4/CILE displayed outstanding electrocatalytic reduction, which demonstrated the promising applications of C3N4 nanosheet in the field electrochemical biosensing.

Natural-based Hydrogels: A Journey from Simple to Smart Networks for Medical Examination

Natural hydrogels, due to their unique biological properties, have been used extensively for various medical and clinical examinations that are performed to investigate the signs of disease. Recently, complex-crosslinking strategies improved the mechanical properties and advanced approaches have resulted in the introduction of naturally derived hydrogels that exhibit high biocompatibility, with shape memory and self-healing characteristics. Moreover, the creation of self-assembled natural hydrogels under physiological conditions has provided the opportunity to engineer fine-tuning properties. To highlight recent studies of natural-based hydrogels and their applications for medical investigation, a critical review was undertaken using published papers from the Science Direct database. This review presents different natural-based hydrogels (natural, natural-synthetic hybrid and complex-crosslinked hydrogels), their historical evolution, and recent studies of medical examination applications. The application of natural-based hydrogels in the design and fabrication of biosensors, catheters and medical electrodes, detection of cancer, targeted delivery of imaging compounds (bioimaging) and fabrication of fluorescent bioprobes is summarised here. Without doubt, in future, more useful and practical concepts will be derived to identify natural-based hydrogels for a wide range of clinical examination applications.

Recent Advances on Electrochemical Sensors for the Detection of Organic Disinfection Byproducts in Water

Irreversible organ damage or even death frequently occurs when humans or animals unknowingly drink contaminated water. Therefore, in many countries drinking water is disinfected to ensure removal of harmful pathogens from drinking water. If upstream water treatment prior to disinfection is not adequate, disinfection byproducts (DBPs) can be formed. DBPs can exist as wide variety of compounds, but up until now, only several typical compounds have drinking water standards attributed to them. However, it is apparent that the range of DBPs present in water can comprise hundreds of compounds, some of which are at high enough concentrations to be toxic or potentially carcinogenic. Hence, it becomes increasingly significant and urgent to develop an accessible, affordable, and durable sensing platform for a broader range and more sensitive detection of DBPs. Compared with well-established laboratory detection techniques, electrochemical sensing has been identified as a promising alternative that will provide rapid, affordable, and sensitive DBP monitoring in remote water sources. Therefore, this Review covers current state-of-the-art development (within the past decade) in electrochemical sensing to detect organic DBPs in water, which covered three major aspects: (1) recognition mechanism, (2) electrodes with signal amplification, and (3) signal read-out techniques. Moreover, comprehensive quality assessments on electrochemical biosensors, including linear detection range, limit of detection (LoD) and recovery, have also been summarized.

Progress in utilisation of graphene for electrochemical biosensors

This review discusses recent graphene (GR) electrochemical biosensor for accurate detection of biomolecules, including glucose, hydrogen peroxide, dopamine, ascorbic acid, uric acid, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide, DNA, metals and immunosensor through effective immobilization of enzymes, including glucose oxidase, horseradish peroxidase, and haemoglobin. GR-based biosensors exhibited remarkable performance with high sensitivities, wide linear detection ranges, low detection limits, and long-term stabilities. Future challenges for the field include miniaturising biosensors and simplifying mass production are discussed.

Construction of myoglobin–amphiphilic alginate caprylamide–graphene composite modified electrode for the direct electron transfer between redox proteins and electrode and electrocatalysis of myoglobin

To achieve the dispersion of the hydrophobic graphene (GR), the amphiphilic alginate caprylamide (ACA) was synthesized to fabricate electroactive Nafion/Mb–ACA–GR/CILE for the accurate determination of trichloroacetic acid (TCA). SEM observation, FT-IR and UV-Vis spectroscopic analysis indicated that ACA could tightly immobilize Mb and GR on the electrode surface by constructing biointerfaces, which not only provided Mb a suitable microenvironment to maintain its biological activity, but also shortened the distances between the active centers of Mb with carbon ionic liquid electrode (CILE), thus promoting the electron transfer rate. The electrochemical characterization of Nafion/Mb–ACA–GR/CILE showed that the direct electron transfer of Mb was realized on the modified electrode, which was attributed to the high electrical conductivity and excellent electrocatalytic activity of GR and good biocompatibility of ACA. Moreover, Nafion/Mb–ACA–GR/CILE exhibited good electrocatalytic activity towards TCA with the linear range from 2.5 to 47.3 mmol L⁻¹ and lower K_M^app value of 8.3 mmol L⁻¹. Moreover, the modified electrode also revealed good stability, reproducibility and accurate detection of tap-water, exhibiting great potential for the applications as the third-generation electrochemical biosensors.

To achieve the dispersion of the hydrophobic graphene (GR), the amphiphilic alginate caprylamide (ACA) was synthesized to fabricate electroactive Nafion/Mb–ACA–GR/CILE for the accurate determination of trichloroacetic acid (TCA).

Iron-Based Nanomaterials/Graphene Composites for Advanced Electrochemical Sensors

Iron oxide nanostructures (IONs) in combination with graphene or its derivatives-e.g., graphene oxide and reduced graphene oxide-hold great promise toward engineering of efficient nanocomposites for enhancing the performance of advanced devices in many applicative fields. Due to the peculiar electrical and electrocatalytic properties displayed by composite structures in nanoscale dimensions, increasing efforts have been directed in recent years toward tailoring the properties of IONs-graphene based nanocomposites for developing more efficient electrochemical sensors. In the present feature paper, we first reviewed the various routes for synthesizing IONs-graphene nanostructures, highlighting advantages, disadvantages and the key synthesis parameters for each method. Then, a comprehensive discussion is presented in the case of application of IONs-graphene based composites in electrochemical sensors for the determination of various kinds of (bio)chemical substances.