Aryl diazonium salt surface chemistry and graft photopolymerization for the preparation of molecularly imprinted polymer biomimetic sensor layers

SERS-Based Molecularly Imprinted Plasmonic Sensor for Highly Sensitive PAH Detection

A novel hybrid plasmonic platform based on the synergetic combination of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP) thin film with Au nanoparticle (NPs) assemblies, noted as Au@MIP, was developed for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy recognition of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). While the MIP trapped the PAH close to the Au surface, the plasmonic NPs enhanced the molecule's Raman signal. The Au@MIP fabrication comprises a two-step procedure, first, the layer-by-layer deposition of Au NPs on glass and their further coating with a uniform MIP thin film. Profilometry analysis demonstrated that the thickness and homogeneity of the MIP film could be finely tailored by tuning different parameters such as prepolymerization time or spin-coating rate. Two different PAH molecules, pyrene or fluoranthene, were used as templates for the fabrication of pyrene- or fluoranthene-based Au@MIP substrates. The use of pyrene or fluoranthene, as the template molecule to fabricate the Au@MIP thin films, enabled its ultradetection in the nM regime with a 100-fold improvement compared with the nonimprinted plasmonic sensors (Au@NIPs). The SERS data analysis allowed to estimate the binding constant of the template molecule to the MIP. The selectivity of both pyrene- and fluoranthene-based Au@MIPs was analyzed against three PAHs of different sizes. The results displayed the important role of the template molecule used for the Au@MIPs fabrication in the selectivity of the system. Finally, the practical applicability of pyrene-based Au@MIPs was shown by performing the detection of pyrene in two real samples: creek water and seawater. The design and optimization of this type of plasmonic platform will pave the way for the detection of other relevant (bio)molecules in a broad range of fields such as environmental control, food safety, or biomedicine.

Ramamurthy P. Development of Molecularly Imprinted Conducting Polymer Composite Film-Based Electrochemical Sensor for Melamine Detection in Infant Formula

Simple, fast, and sensitive molecularly imprinted composite thin-film-based electrochemical sensor developed by using in situ co-electropolymerization of aniline and acrylic acid in the presence of melamine as a template is described here. The prepolymerization complex formation was studied by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrophotometry, while the film formation was performed and characterized by cyclic voltammetry, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The optimization of important parameters and removal of melamine generated the binding sites in the polymer matrix, which can recognize melamine specifically. Electrochemical measurements were performed to achieve the linear range, the limit of quantification, and limit of detection of 0.1-180, 0.0573, and 0.0172 nM, respectively. The sensitivity of the sensor was attributed to the synergistic effects of amine from aniline and the carboxylic group from acrylic acid to form multiple noncovalent interactions with the template. Melamine-spiked infant formula and raw milk were analyzed by the developed sensor, and the recovery range of 95.87-105.63% with a relative standard deviation of 1.11-2.23% was obtained. The results showed that the developed sensor using the new composite polymer receptor is promising for the online monitoring of melamine in the food industries in the future.

Suppressing Non-Specific Binding of Proteins onto Electrode Surfaces in the Development of Electrochemical Immunosensors

Electrochemical immunosensors, EIs, are systems that combine the analytical power of electrochemical techniques and the high selectivity and specificity of antibodies in a solid phase immunoassay for target analyte. In EIs, the most used transducer platforms are screen printed electrodes, SPEs. Some characteristics of EIs are their low cost, portability for point of care testing (POCT) applications, high specificity and selectivity to the target molecule, low sample and reagent consumption and easy to use. Despite all these attractive features, still exist one to cover and it is the enhancement of the sensitivity of the EIs. In this review, an approach to understand how this can be achieved is presented. First, it is necessary to comprise thoroughly all the complex phenomena that happen simultaneously in the protein-surface interface when adsorption of the protein occurs. Physicochemical properties of the protein and the surface as well as the adsorption phenomena influence the sensitivity of the EIs. From this point, some strategies to suppress non-specific binding, NSB, of proteins onto electrode surfaces in order to improve the sensitivity of EIs are mentioned.

DNA based signal amplified molecularly imprinted polymer electrochemical sensor for multiplex detection

Fabrication process of the electrochemical sensor based on MIPs/GE for the determination of FA, FR, Hg²⁺, and target DNA.

Molecularly-imprinted polymer sensors: realising their potential

In parallel with recent developments in communications, nanotechnology and materials sciences, there has been extraordinary growth in the area of biosensors, with almost half of the total number of papers ever published (1962-2015) appearing in the last five-years (2010-2015). Molecular imprinting offers a route to the creation of specific and selective cavities in a 3D-polymeric network, which are complementary not only to the size and shape of a target species, but also provide interaction points and a coordination sphere around the template molecule. Given the challenges facing biosensor technologists, it is natural that this approach to create potentially highly stable synthetic ligands as an alternative to, or to compliment natural receptors, should emerge as a key line of interdisciplinary research. Despite the profuse amount of recent literature on molecularly-imprinted polymers (MIPs) and some limited commercial activity, these promising materials still need to overcome some limitations before taking their place in analytical market. In this review, we have focused on the most promising advances in MIP-based biosensors to illustrate how close to market they really are. We present our material under five main sections covering computational design, polymerisation strategies, material combinations, recent sensor designs and manufacturing issues. Each section provides technical details and evaluates the effect on sensor performance.

Ultrasensitive and selective detection of dopamine using cobalt-phthalocyanine nanopillar-based surface acoustic wave sensor

A highly selective and sensitive surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor of dopamine (DA) was developed by depositing cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) nanopillars on gold-coated sensing platform of SAW sensor. The developed biosensor presents a sensitivity of 1.6°/nM, has a low limit of detection (LOD) on the order of 0.1 nM, and imparts more selectivity toward DA, since the detection limit of the interfering ascorbic acid (AA) is as high as 1 mM. To understand the selectivity mechanisms of this sensor toward DA, density functional theory-based chemical calculations were carried out. Calculations suggest two different types of interactions: dative bond with a very strong character for DA-CoPc complexes, and significant ionic character in the case of AA-CoPc ones. The interaction energies, in liquid phase, were estimated to be equal to -81 kJ mol(-1) and -38 kJ mol(-1) for DA-CoPc and AA-CoPc complexes, respectively, therefore accounting for the selective detection of DA over AA using tandem CoPc nanopillar-based SAW sensor device. This work demonstrates a simple and efficient design of SAW sensors employing thin nanostructured CoPc biomolecular recognition layers for DA detection.

Fabrication of gold/polypyrrole core/shell nanowires on a flexible substrate for molecular imprinted electrochemical sensors

Gold/polypyrrole core/shell nanowires electrochemically grown on flexible substrates are used as molecular imprinted polymer biosensors for dopamine detection.

On the interfacial chemistry of aryl diazonium compounds in polymer science

This review emphasises the role of aryl diazonium compounds as a new class of coupling agents for grafting polymer thin layers onto carbon, diamond, metals, metal oxides, alloys, semi-conductors, ceramics, and polymers. Physical and chemical methods are first reported for anchoring aryl layers to the surfaces, then the review concentrates on the modification of the above substrates by thin polymer films via a range of the “grafting from” and “grafting onto” strategies. Some applications are described which highlight the important role that diazonium salts will continue to play in the near future in the polymer and surface sciences.