Poly(gallic acid)/MWNT-modified electrode for the selective and sensitive voltammetric determination of quercetin in medicinal herbs

Synthesis of gallic acid-grafted epoxidized natural rubber and its role in self-healable flexible temperature sensors

Developing a flexible temperature sensor with appreciable sensitivity is critical for advancing research related to flexible electronics. Although various flexible sensors are available commercially, most such temperature sensors are made from polymeric materials obtained from petrochemical resources. Such sensors will contribute to electronic waste and increase the carbon footprint after usage. While there are reports on various sensors made from sustainable polymers, research related to developing self-healable flexible temperature sensors made from sustainable polymers is significantly less. Herein, we report on developing a flexible temperature sensor made of gallic acid-grafted epoxidized natural rubber and multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Various spectroscopic and thermal techniques vetted the modification of the epoxidized natural rubber. The highest grafting of 20.9% was achieved in the selected window of stoichiometry. A self-healing behavior was achieved by leveraging the FeCl3 based metal-ligand crosslinking of the composite. The healing efficiency was noted to be 31.2% for the composite material. The fabricated sensor demonstrated an electrical resistance of 4.46 × 103 Ω, thereby warranting the composite to demonstrate an Ohmic behavior in the I-V plot. Appropriate data fitting suggested a variable range hopping mechanism as causation towards excellent electrical conduction. The temperature sensitivity and the thermal index of the developed sensor were noted to be -0.17% °C-1 and 781.2 K, respectively, in the temperature range of 30 °C to 50 °C. The proposed method of fabricating sustainable, high-strength, self-healable, and robust temperature sensors and conductors is a unique and value-added approach for next-generation flexible electronics.

Layer-by-Layer Combination of MWCNTs and Poly(ferulic acid) as Electrochemical Platform for Hesperidin Quantification

The electrochemical polymerization of suitable monomers is a powerful way to create voltammetric sensors with improved responses to a target analyte. Nonconductive polymers based on phenolic acids were successfully combined with carbon nanomaterials to obtain sufficient conductivity and high surface area of the electrode. Glassy carbon electrodes (GCE) modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and electropolymerized ferulic acid (FA) were developed for the sensitive quantification of hesperidin. The optimized conditions of FA electropolymerization in basic medium (15 cycles from -0.2 to 1.0 V at 100 mV s^-1 in 250 µmol L^-1 monomer solution in 0.1 mol L^-1 NaOH) were found using the voltammetric response of hesperidin. The polymer-modified electrode exhibited a high electroactive surface area (1.14 ± 0.05 cm² vs. 0.75 ± 0.03 and 0.089 ± 0.003 cm² for MWCNTs/GCE and bare GCE, respectively) and decreased in the charge transfer resistance (21.4 ± 0.9 kΩ vs. 72 ± 3 kΩ for bare GCE). Under optimized conditions, hesperidin linear dynamic ranges of 0.025-1.0 and 1.0-10 µmol L^-1 with a detection limit of 7.0 nmol L^-1 were achieved, which were the best ones among those reported to date. The developed electrode was tested on orange juice and compared with chromatography.

Electrochemical Characterization of the Antioxidant Properties of Medicinal Plants and Products: A Review

Medicinal plants are an important source of bioactive compounds with a wide spectrum of practically useful properties. Various types of antioxidants synthesized in plants are the reasons for their application in medicine, phytotherapy, and aromatherapy. Therefore, reliable, simple, cost-effective, eco-friendly, and rapid methods for the evaluation of antioxidant properties of medicinal plants and products on their basis are required. Electrochemical methods based on electron transfer reactions are promising tools to solve this problem. Total antioxidant parameters and individual antioxidant quantification can be achieved using suitable electrochemical techniques. The analytical capabilities of constant-current coulometry, potentiometry, various types of voltammetry, and chrono methods in the evaluation of total antioxidant parameters of medicinal plants and plant-derived products are presented. The advantages and limitations of methods in comparison to each other and traditional spectroscopic methods are discussed. The possibility to use electrochemical detection of the antioxidants via reactions with oxidants or radicals (N- and O-centered) in solution, with stable radicals immobilized on the electrode surface, via oxidation of antioxidants on a suitable electrode, allows the study of various mechanisms of antioxidant actions occurring in living systems. Attention is also paid to the individual or simultaneous electrochemical determination of antioxidants in medicinal plants using chemically modified electrodes.

New analytical strategies amplified with carbon-based nanomaterial for sensing food pollutants

The most significant topic currently under the moonlight is Nanobiotechnology and engineered nanomaterials. The novel characteristics displayed by engineered Nanomaterials, especially carbon-based nanomaterials, have spurred interest in its potential application in the food industry. It has provided opportunities for finding solutions to the long-standing challenges in the food industry to assess food safety, maintain food quality, extend the shelf life of produce, and efficiently deliver nutrients. Nanomaterials can be incorporated in food sensors facilitating efficient monitoring of crop maturity and detecting biological and chemical contaminants. When integrated into food packages, nanomaterials could aid in assessing the freshness and improving the quality of packaged foods. In addition, more efficient delivery of nutrients could be possible in foods fortified using nano compounds. The initial section of this review gives an overview of the broad application of nanotechnology in the food industry and carbon-based nanomaterials. The latter part focuses on nanotechnology in biosensors for food safety and quality monitoring.

Simultaneous Determination of Ferulic Acid and Vanillin in Vanilla Extracts Using Voltammetric Sensor Based on Electropolymerized Bromocresol Purple

Natural phenolic antioxidants are one of the widely studied compounds in life sciences due to their important role in oxidative stress prevention and repair. The structural similarity of these antioxidants and their simultaneous presence in the plant samples stipulate the development of methods for their quantification. The current work deals with the simultaneous determination of vanillin and its bioprecursor ferulic acid using a voltammetric sensor for the first time. A sensor based on the layer-by-layer deposition of the polyaminobenzene sulfonic acid functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (f-SWCNTs) and electropolymerized bromocresol purple has been developed for this purpose. The best response of co-existing target analytes was registered for the polymer obtained from the 25 µM dye by 10-fold potential cycling from 0.0 to 1.2 V with the scan rate of 100 mV s⁻¹ in 0.1 M phosphate buffer (PB), pH 7.0. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) confirmed the effectivity of the sensor developed. The linear dynamic ranges of 0.10–5.0 µM and 5.0–25 µM for both analytes with the detection limits of 72 nM and 64 nM for ferulic acid and vanillin, respectively, were achieved in differential pulse mode. The sensor was applied for the analysis of vanilla extracts.

Electrochemical Sensors Based on the Electropolymerized Natural Phenolic Antioxidants and Their Analytical Application

The design and fabrication of novel electrochemical sensors with high analytical and operational characteristics are one of the sustainable trends in modern analytical chemistry. Polymeric film formation by the electropolymerization of suitable monomers is one of the methods of sensors fabrication. Among a wide range of the substances able to polymerize, the phenolic ones are of theoretical and practical interest. The attention is focused on the sensors based on the electropolymerized natural phenolic antioxidants and their analytical application. The typical electropolymerization reaction schemes are discussed. Phenol electropolymerization leads to insulating coverage formation. Therefore, a combination of electropolymerized natural phenolic antioxidants and carbon nanomaterials as modifiers is of special interest. Carbon nanomaterials provide conductivity and a high working surface area of the electrode, while the polymeric film properties affect the selectivity and sensitivity of the sensor response for the target analyte or the group of structurally related compounds. The possibility of guided changes in the electrochemical response for the improvement of target compounds' analytical characteristics has appeared. The analytical capabilities of sensors based on electropolymerized natural phenolic antioxidants and their future development in this field are discussed.

Application of Electrochemical Sensors Based on Carbon Nanomaterials for Detection of Flavonoids

Flavonoids have a variety of physiological activities such as anti-free radicals, regulating hormone levels, antibacterial factors, and anti-cancer factors, which are widely present in edible and medicinal plants. Real-time detection of flavonoids is a key step in the quality control of diverse matrices closely related to social, economic, and health issues. Traditional detection methods are time-consuming and require expensive equipment and complicated working conditions. Therefore, electrochemical sensors with high sensitivity and fast detection speed have aroused extensive research interest. Carbon nanomaterials are preferred material in improving the performance of electrochemical sensing. In this paper, we review the progress of electrochemical sensors based on carbon nanomaterials including carbon nanotubes, graphene, carbon and graphene quantum dots, mesoporous carbon, and carbon black for detecting flavonoids in food and drug homologous substances in the last four years. In addition, we look forward to the prospects and challenges of this research field.

Biosensors and Sensing Systems for Rapid Analysis of Phenolic Compounds from Plants: A Comprehensive Review

Phenolic compounds are secondary metabolites frequently found in plants that exhibit many different effects on human health. Because of the relevant bioactivity, their identification and quantification in agro-food matrices as well as in biological samples are a fundamental issue in the field of quality control of food and food supplements, and clinical analysis. In this review, a critical selection of sensors and biosensors for rapid and selective detection of phenolic compounds is discussed. Sensors based on electrochemistry, photoelectrochemistry, fluorescence, and colorimetry are discussed including devices with or without specific recognition elements, such as biomolecules, enzymes and molecularly imprinted materials. Systems that have been tested on real matrices are prevalently considered but also techniques that show potential development in the field.

Development of Aloe vera-titanium oxide-based ultrasensitive sensor for the quantification of quercetin

In the present work, a novel sensor developed for the quantification of quercetin (QRC) is being reported. Due to synergistic effects of Aloe vera and titanium oxide, voltammetric performance of the developed sensor (ALV-TiO2/glassy carbon electrode) was greatly enhanced. The fabricated sensor was characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive X-ray, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The sensor was applied to study electrochemical behavior of QRC using square wave voltammetry. Under optimal condition, the developed sensor exhibited a linear response in the range of 3.3 × 10-7 to 2.31 × 10-6 µM with a detection limit of 0.8 nM. The analytical utility of the proposed sensor was justified by applying it for the analysis of QRC in real samples.

Electrochemical strategies for gallic acid detection: Potential for application in clinical, food or environmental analyses

Polyphenols are important to human health thus making it interesting and necessary to identify and assess methods for their detection. Gallic acid (GA) is a well-known antioxidant compound, found in tea leaves, various fruits, fruit seeds and in fruit-derived foods and beverages. In this study, to electrochemically detect this compound and assess the potential for GA detection, different analytical conditions at pH values of 5.8, 7 and 8 were tried. Two types of device were used for GA detection: (1) Lazar ORP-146C reduction-oxidation microsensors, coupled with a Jenco device, for estimation of antioxidant capacities of different electroactive media, and (2) screen-printed carbon sensors coupled with a mobile PalmSens device using differential pulse voltammetry (qualitative and quantitative GA determination). These proposed methods were validated by analysing some real samples: wine, green tea, apple juice and serum fortified with GA. Detection was evaluated in terms of specific calibration curves, with low limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ), low response time, and high sensitivities. The analytical characteristics obtained recommend these methods to be tested on more other types of real samples. Our proposed methods, used in the established conditions of pH, may have further application in other clinical, food or environmental samples analyses in which the results of total antioxidants contents are usually expressed in GA equivalents.