Dual functional rhodium oxide nanocorals enabled sensor for both non-enzymatic glucose and solid-state pH sensing

Schottky Interface Enabled Electrospun Rhodium Oxide Doped Gold for Both pH Sensing and Glucose Measurements in Neutral Buffer and Human Serum

This study has focused on adjusting sensing environment from basic to neutral pH and improve sensing performance by doping electrodeposited gold (Au) with metal oxide for nonenzymatic glucose measurements in forming a Schottky interface for superior glucose sensing with detailed analysis for the sensing mechanism. The prepared sensor also holds the ability to measure pH with the identical electrospun metal oxide-electrodeposited Au, which composed a dual sensor (glucose and pH sensor) through applying chronoamperometry and open circuit potential methods. The rhodium oxide nanocoral structure was fabricated with an electrospinning precursor solution, followed by a calcination process, and it was mixed with electrodeposited nanocoral gold to form the Schottky interface by constructing a p-n type heterogeneous junction for improved sensitivity in glucose detection. The prepared materials were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectrometry (XPS), etc. The prepared materials were used for both pH responsive testing and amperometric glucose measurements. The rhodium oxide nanocoral doped gold demonstrated a sensitivity of 3.52 μA mM-1 cm-2 and limit of detection of 20 μM with linear range up to 3 mM glucose concentration compared to solely electrodeposited gold for a sensitivity of 0.46 μA mM-1 cm-2 and a limit of detection of 450 μM. The Mott-Schottky method was used for the analysis of an electron transfer process from noble metal to metal oxide to electrolyte in demonstrating the improved sensitivity at neutral pH for glucose measurements due to the Schottky barrier adjustment mechanism at an applied flat band potential of 0.3 V. This work opens a new venue in illustrating the metal oxide/metal materials in the glucose neutral response mechanism. In the end, human serum samples were tested against current commercial glucose meter to certify the accuracy of the proposed sensor.

Difunctional Hydrogel Optical Fiber Fluorescence Sensor for Continuous and Simultaneous Monitoring of Glucose and pH

It is significant for people with diabetes to know their body's real-time glucose level, which can guide the diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to research continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) as it gives us real-time information about our health condition and its dynamic changes. Here, we report a novel hydrogel optical fiber fluorescence sensor segmentally functionalized with fluorescein derivative and CdTe QDs/3-APBA, which can continuously monitor pH and glucose simultaneously. In the glucose detection section, the complexation of PBA and glucose will expand the local hydrogel and decrease the fluorescence of the quantum dots. The fluorescence can be transmitted to the detector by the hydrogel optical fiber in real time. As the complexation reaction and the swelling-deswelling of the hydrogel are all reversible, the dynamic change of glucose concentration can be monitored. For pH detection, the fluorescein attached to another segment of the hydrogel exhibits different protolytic forms when pH changes and the fluorescence changes correspondingly. The significance of pH detection is compensation for pH errors in glucose detection because the reaction between PBA and glucose is sensitive to pH. The emission peaks of the two detection units are 517 nm and 594 nm, respectively, so there is no signal interference between them. The sensor can continuously monitor glucose in 0-20 mM and pH in 5.4-7.8. The advantages of this sensor are multi-parameter simultaneous detection, transmission-detection integration, real-time dynamic detection, and good biocompatibility.

Investigation on the surface morphologies of reduced graphene oxide coating on the interfacial characteristics and electro-catalytic capacity of enzymatic glucose sensors

In this study, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were subject to ultrasonic treatment to acquire varied morphologies, and the enzymatic glucose sensors were constructed by coating the rGO onto indium tin oxide electrodes and physically linking glucose oxidase to the rGO coatings. The effects of the surface morphologies of the rGO coatings on the interfacial characteristics and the electro-catalytic capacity of the enzymatic glucose sensors were systematically investigated. It turns out that, the rGO coating with a rough surface is more hydrophilic, and exhibits uniform glucose oxidase adsorption and higher electron migration rate at the solid/liquid interface between the analytical liquid and the working electrode. As a result, the corresponding glucose sensor shows excellent electro-catalytic capacity towards glucose with a broader linear range of 0-10.0 mM, a higher sensitivity of 38.9μA·mM^-1·cm^-2, and a lower detection limit of 0.1μM (signal-to-noise ratio of 3). Additionally, the as-prepared glucose sensor exhibits excellent accuracy for detecting actual blood samples as well as superior resistance to interference from other substances (such as L-phenylalanine, urea, ascorbic acid, uric acid, NaCl, and KCl). These results establish the theoretical and experimental foundation for the application of rGO coating in the field of biosensors.

A dual-functional flexible sensor based on defects-free Co-doped ZnO nanorods decorated with CoO clusters towards pH and glucose monitoring of fruit juices and human fluids

Herein, ZnO nanorods were doped with Co and decorated with CoO clusters through an in situ technique to create a CoO/Co-doped ZnO (CO/CZO) heterostructure at low temperatures (150 °C) on a flexible PET substrate. In the CO/CZO heterostructure, the Co dopant has a low energy barrier to substitute Zn atoms and adsorb over oxygen atoms and their vacancies. Therefore, it decreased the charge density (ND = 2.64 × 1019 cm-3) on non-active sites of ZnO and lowered the charge transfer resistance (317 Ω) at Co-doped-ZnO/electrolyte interface by suppressing the native defects and reducing the Schottky barrier height (- 0.35 eV), respectively. Furthermore, CoO clusters induced a p-n heterostructure with Co-doped ZnO, prevented corrosion, increased the active sites for analyte absorption, and increased the ultimate tensile strength (4.85 N m-2). These characteristics enabled the CO/CZO heterostructure to work as a highly sensitive, chemically stable, and flexible pH and glucose oxidation electrode. Therefore, CO/CZO heterostructure was explored for pH monitoring in human fluids and fruit juices, demonstrating a near-Nernst-limit pH sensitivity (52 mV/pH) and fast response time (19 s) in each human fluid and fruit juice. Also, it demonstrated high sensitivity (4656 µM mM-1 cm-2), low limit of detection (0.15 µM), a broad linear range (0.04 mM to 8.85 mM) and good anti-interference capacity towards glucose-sensing. Moreover, it demonstrated excellent flexibility performances, retained 53% and 69% sensitivity of the initial value for pH and glucose sensors, respectively, after 500 bending, stretching, and warping cycles.

Alizarin-graphene nanocomposite for calibration-free and online pH monitoring of microbial fuel cell

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) are sensitive to acidity variations in both bioelectricity generation and biochemical digestion aspects, therefore online pH monitoring is of necessity to guarantee optimal function of MFCs. Present pH meters hardly fulfill this special need. In this work, we designed a novel voltammetric pH sensor based on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (rGO) modified screen printed electrode. By surface doping of alizarin, good linearity of pH sensing over the range of 4.0-9.0 can be realized. Fast readout can be acquired within 15 s for each test. pH monitoring for artificial wastewater with inoculum of granular activated sludge in a MFC was successfully illustrated. Specially, it was verified that the performance was improved with alizarin doping due to the enhanced rGO surface proton diffusion. This approach provides an online, calibration-free and long stable pH monitoring method for the future MFC development.

Fourth-generation glucose sensors composed of copper nanostructures for diabetes management: A critical review

More than five decades have been invested in understanding glucose biosensors. Yet, this immensely versatile field has continued to gain attention from the scientific world to better understand and diagnose diabetes. However, such extensive work done to improve glucose sensing devices has still not yielded desirable results. Drawbacks like the necessity of the invasive finger-pricking step and the lack of optimization of diagnostic interventions still need to be considered to improve the testing process of diabetic patients. To upgrade the glucose-sensing devices and reduce the number of intermediary steps during glucose measurement, fourth-generation glucose sensors (FGGS) have been introduced. These sensors, made using robust electrocatalytic copper nanostructures, improve diagnostic efficiency and cost-effectiveness. This review aims to present the essential scientific progress in copper nanostructure-based FGGS in the past 10 years (2010 to present). After a short introduction, we presented the working principles of these sensors. We then highlighted the importance of copper nanostructures as advanced electrode materials to develop reliable real-time FGGS. Finally, we cover the advantages, shortcomings, and prospects for developing highly sensitive, stable, and specific FGGS.

Recent Advances in Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensors Based on Metal and Metal Oxide Nanostructures for Diabetes Management- A Review

There is an undeniable growing number of diabetes cases worldwide that have received widespread global attention by many pharmaceutical and clinical industries to develop better functioning glucose sensing devices. This has called for an unprecedented demand to develop highly efficient, stable, selective, and sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensors (NEGS). Interestingly, many novel materials have shown the promising potential of directly detecting glucose in the blood and fluids. This review exclusively encompasses the electrochemical detection of glucose and its mechanism based on various metal-based materials such as cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), titanium (Ti), iridium (Ir), and rhodium (Rh). Multiple aspects of these metals and their oxides were explored vis-à-vis their performance in glucose detection. The direct glucose oxidation via metallic redox centres is explained by the chemisorption model and the incipient hydrous oxide/adatom mediator (IHOAM) model. The glucose electrooxidation reactions on the electrode surface were elucidated by equations. Furthermore, it was explored that an effective detection of glucose depends on the aspect ratio, surface morphology, active sites, structures, and catalytic activity of nanomaterials, which plays an indispensable role in designing efficient NEGS. The challenges and possible solutions for advancing NEGS have been summarized.

Development of a multiparametric (bio)sensing platform for continuous monitoring of stress metabolites

There is a growing need for real-time monitoring of metabolic products that could reflect cell damages over extended periods. In this paper, we report the design and development of an original multiparametric (bio)sensing platform that is tailored for the real-time monitoring of cell metabolites derived from cell cultures. Most attractive features of our developed electrochemical (bio)sensing platform are its easy manufacturing process, that enables seamless scale-up, modular and versatile approach, and low cost. In addition, the developed platform allows a multiparametric analysis instead of single-analyte analysis. Here we provide an overview of the sensors-based analysis of four main factors that can indicate a possible cell deterioration problem during cell-culture: pH, hydrogen peroxide, nitric oxide/nitrite and lactate. Herein, we are proposing a sensors platform based on thick-film coupled to microfluidic technology that can be integrated into any microfluidic system using Luer-lock connectors. This platform allows obtaining an accurate analysis of the secreting stress metabolites during cell/tissues culture.

Construction of a selective non-enzymatic electrochemical sensor based on hollow nickel nanospheres/carbon dots–chitosan and molecularly imprinted polymer film for the detection of glucose

A non-enzymatic glucose electrochemical sensor platform was fabricated by assembling hollow nickel nanospheres/carbon dots–chitosan and molecularly imprinted polymer film modified a glass carbon electrode.

Phenosafranin-Based Colorimetric-Sensing Platform for Nitrite Detection Enabled by Griess Assay

A facile and effective colorimetric-sensing platform based on the diazotization of phenosafranin for the detection of NO 2 - under acidic conditions using the Griess assay is presented. Diazotization of commercial phenosafranin produces a color change from purplish to blue, which enables colorimetric quantitative detection of NO 2 - . Optimal detection conditions were obtained at a phenosafranin concentration of 0.25 mM, HCl concentration of 0.4 M, and reaction time of 20 min. Under the optimized detection conditions, an excellent linearity range from 0 to 20 μM was obtained with a detection limit of 0.22 μM. Favorable reproducibility and selectivity of the colorimetric sensing platform toward NO 2 - were also verified. In addition, testing spiked ham sausage, bacon, and sprouts samples demonstrated its excellent practicability. The presented colorimetric sensing platform is a promising candidate for the detection of NO 2 - in real applications.

Synthesis of wearable and flexible NiP0.1-SnOx/PANI/CuO/cotton towards a non-enzymatic glucose sensor

Ni-SnO_x, PANI and CuO nanoparticles were synthesized on cotton fabric through chemical methods to make a new flexible high-performance non-enzymatic glucose sensor. FESEM, XRD, XPS, EDS and ATR analysis were employed to characterize the structure and the morphology of the nanomaterials. The high electrochemical performance of nickel and copper oxide and hydroxide on a conductive template leads to fabrication of a wearable and flexible cotton electrode with an excellent electrocatalytic activity to oxidize glucose. This hybrid system on the fabric as an electrode indicates a detection limit of 130 nM with wide linear range of 0.001-10 mM. The sensitivity was measured to be 1625 and 1325 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 for the ranges of 0.001-1 and 1-10 mM, respectively. Long-term stability, appropriate selectivity and reusability for many times make possibility for utilizing the fabricated sensor in the practical applications. The fabric is a wide linear range electrode with low detection limit to sense glucose concentration in the body fluids as well as the human blood that can be presumably suggested for designing other similar flexible types of sensor.

A portable micro glucose sensor based on copper-based nanocomposite structure

A sensor device based on a copper-based nanocomposite structure is achieved and presents excellent sensing performance for glucose.