A critical evaluation of a glucose biosensor made by codeposition of palladium and glucose oxidase on glassy carbon

Synthesis of palladium/helical carbon nanofiber hybrid nanostructures and their application for hydrogen peroxide and glucose detection

We report on a novel sensing platform for H2O2 and glucose based on immobilization of palladium-helical carbon nanofiber (Pd-HCNF) hybrid nanostructures and glucose oxidase (GOx) with Nafion on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). HCNFs were synthesized by a chemical vapor deposition process on a C60-supported Pd catalyst. Pd-HCNF nanocomposites were prepared by a one-step reduction free method in dimethylformamide (DMF). The prepared materials were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. The Nafion/Pd-HCNF/GCE sensor exhibits excellent electrocatalytic sensitivity toward H2O2 (315 mA M(-1) cm(-2)) as probed by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry. We show that Pd-HCNF-modified electrodes significantly reduce the overpotential and enhance the electron transfer rate. A linear range from 5.0 μM to 2.1 mM with a detection limit of 3.0 μM (based on the S/N = 3) and good reproducibility were obtained. Furthermore, a sensing platform for glucose was prepared by immobilizing the Pd-HCNFs and glucose oxidase (GOx) with Nafion on a glassy carbon electrode. The resulting biosensor exhibits a good response to glucose with a wide linear range (0.06-6.0 mM) with a detection limit of 0.03 mM and a sensitivity of 13 mA M(-1) cm(-2). We show that small size and homogeneous distribution of the Pd nanoparticles in combination with good conductivity and large surface area of the HCNFs lead to a H2O2 and glucose sensing platform that performs in the top range of the herein reported sensor platforms.

Comparison of amperometric biosensors fabricated by palladium sputtering, palladium electrodeposition and Nafion/carbon nanotube casting on screen-printed carbon electrodes

Different strategies, including palladium electrodeposition (Pd(CV)), Pd sputtering (Pd(S)) and Nafion-solubilized carbon nanotube casting (Nafion/CNT), were used to modify screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) for the fabrication of amperometric enzyme biosensors. The electrochemical properties of the bare and modified SPCEs and the optimal conditions for surface modification were determined. The electrochemical response of the bare SPCE to H(2)O(2) under the potential of 0.3 V could be improved about 100-fold by Pd modification by electrodeposition or sputtering. By contrast, the electrochemical response of the bare SPCE was enhanced by only about 11-fold by Nafion/CNT casting. Moreover, the Pd(CV)-SPCEs exhibited better reproducibility of electrochemical response (a relative standard deviation (R.S.D.)<6.0%) than freshly prepared Pd(S)-SPCEs (R.S.D.>10%). The glucose biosensor fabricated from Pd-modified electrodes could be stored for up to 108 days without loosing significant activity. The Pd(CV)-SPCE also showed very reliable signal characteristics upon 50 consecutively repeated measurements of ascorbic acid. The electrocatalytic detection of the Pd-SPCE was combined with additional advantages of resistance to surface fouling and hence good stability. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that deposition of Pd thin film on SPCEs by electrodeposition or sputtering provided superior enhancement of electrochemical properties compared to Nafion/CNT-SPCEs. Despite their high electrochemical response, Pd(S)-SPCEs required an activation process to improve stability and Pd(CV)-SPCEs suffered from poor between electrode reproducibility.

Mixed-valence compound-based biosensor

A cobalt(II)hexacyanoferrate-based biosensor has been prepared simply by codeposition of an enzyme, together with the electrochemical formation of a cobalt (II)hexacyanoferrate compound electrochemically. The compound can be generated at a constant potential of -0.05 V (vs. Ag/AgCl). This compound possesses the catalytic property of reducing hydrogen peroxide to water at the operating potential of 0.0 V vs. Ag/AgCl. The mixed-valence compound-based biosensor possesses an unique interference-independent feature, which is important for biomedical application; this feature is attributed to the low overvoltage characteristic of cobalt (II)hexacyanoferrate. The electrochemical glucose biosensor responds to a series of glucose injections with linearity up to 5 mM (with correlation coefficient R = 0.9999) and the sensitivity of the linear portion is 733 nA/(cm2 x mM). The detection limit is 2 x 10(-6)M (S/N = 3). Both the potential-dependent electron transfer rate constant and the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant were studied in rotating disk experiments. The apparent Michaelis-Menten constant, Km' calculated from the slope of the "Lineweaver-Burke" type reciprocal plot is 28 mM. A fast-response characteristic is observed in the rotating disk experiment and the 95% response time is 14.5 sec. No response was observed from the addition of either 2 x 10(-4)M galactose, acetaminophen, ascorbic acid, uric acid, cysteine, tyrosine, dopamine, or 1,4-dihydroxyquinone in the absence and/or in the presence of 5 x 10(-4)M glucose.