Rapid and reusable detection of hydrogen peroxide using polyurethane scaffold incorporated with cerium oxide nanoparticles

Laser-induced 2D/0D graphene-nanoceria freestanding paper-based films for on-site hydrogen peroxide monitoring in no-touch disinfection treatments

A one-shot CO2 laser-based strategy to generate conductive reduced graphene oxide (rGO) decorated with nanoceria (nCe) is proposed. The 2D/0D rGO-nCe films, integrated as catalytic sensing layers in paper-based sensors, were employed for on-site monitoring of indoor fogging treatments against Listeria monocytogenes (Lm), a ubiquitous pathogenic bacterium. The rGO-nCe laser-assisted synthesis was optimized to preserve the rGO film morphological and electron-transfer features and simultaneously integrate catalytic nCe. The films were characterized by microscopical (SEM), spectroscopical (EDX, Raman, and FTIR), and electrochemical techniques. The most performing film was integrated into a nitrocellulose substrate, and the complete sensor was assembled via a combination of xurography and stencil printing. The rGO-nCe sensor's catalytic activity was proved toward the detection of H2O2, obtaining sensitive determination (LOD = 0.3 µM) and an extended linear range (0.5-1500 µM). Eventually, the rGO-nCe sensor was challenged for the real-time continuous monitoring of hydrogen peroxide aerosol during no-touch fogging treatment conducted following the EU's recommendation for biocidal product use. Treatment effectiveness was proved toward three Lm strains characterized by different origins, i.e., type strain ATCC 7644, clinical strain 338, and food strain 641/6II. The sensor allows for discrimination and quantification treatments at different environmental biocidal amounts and fogging times, and correlates with the microbiological inhibition, promoting the proposed sensor as a useful tool to modulate and monitor no-touch treatments.

Phosphate-driven H2O2 decomposition on DNA-bound bio-inspired activated carbon-based sensing platform for biological and food samples

Hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) is one of the most important reactive oxygen species (ROS). Increased endogenous H₂O₂ levels indicate oxidative stress and could be a potential marker of many diseases, including Alzheimer's, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes. However, consuming H₂O_2-incorporated food has adverse effects on humans and is a serious health concern. We used salmon testes DNA with bio-inspired activated carbon (AC) as an electrocatalyst for developing a novel H₂O₂ sensor. The phosphate backbone of DNA contains negatively charged oxygen groups that specifically attract protons from H₂O₂ reduction. We observed a linearity range of 0.01-250.0 μM in the H₂O₂ reduction peak current with a detection limit of 2.5 and 45.7 nM for chronoamperometric and differential pulse voltammetric studies. High biocompatibility of the sensor was achieved by the DNA, facilitating endogenous H₂O₂ detection. Moreover, this non-enzymatic sensor could also help in the rapid screening of H₂O₂-contaminated foods.

Enhanced Olefin Transport by SiO2 Particles for Polymer/Ag Metal/Electron Acceptor Composite Membranes

We showed the potential of poly(ethylene-co-propylene) (EPR)/silver metal/p-benzoquinone composite membranes for propylene/propane mixtures, i.e., a selectivity of 10 and a mixed gas permeance of 0.5 GPU (1 GPU = 1 × 10^-6 cm³ (STP)/(cm² s cmHg) in a previous study. In this study, we additionally found that the incorporation of fumed silica nanoparticles into EPR/silver metal/p-benzoquinone (p-BQ) composite membranes exhibited much higher permeance and selectivity for propylene/propane mixtures. The positive polarity of silver metal continuously increased with the increasing silica content up to the 0.1 weight ratio, as revealed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). This increase in the polarity of silver metal was attributed to the enhanced interaction of p-BQ with the surface of Ag nanoparticles by the increased dispersion of p-BQ by fumed silica nanoparticles. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) also presented that the glass transition temperature (T_g) of the membranes was almost invariant. Therefore, the improvement of the permeance and selectivity with the silica nanoparticles was attributable to the increased polarity of the silver metal rather than the structural change.