Bimetallic AgAu decorated MWCNTs enable robust nonenzyme electrochemical sensors for in-situ quantification of dopamine and H2O2 biomarkers expelled from PC-12 cells

A Comparison of the Sensing Behavior for Pt-Mo/C-, Pt-Zr/C-, Pt-Fe-Ir/C-, and Pt/C-Modified Glassy Carbon Electrodes for the Oxidation of Ascorbic Acid and Dopamine

This study compares the sensing performance for platinum-molybdenum-, platinum-zirconium-, platinum-iron-iridium-, and platinum-modified electrodes in terms of the amperometric detection of ascorbic acid (AA) and dopamine (DA). The Pt, Pt-Mo, Pt-Zr, and Pt-Fe-Ir electrocatalysts are fabricated by chemical reduction on a carbon black support (XC-72) and are further modified on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) as sensing electrodes. The Pt-Mo/C/GCE exhibits better electrocatalytic activity toward AA and DA than the Pt/C/GCE, Pt-Zr/C/GCE, and Pt-Fe-Ir/C/GCE. The Pt-Mo/C/GCE exhibits a sensitivity of 31.29 µA mM−1 to AA at 0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl and a sensitivity of 72.24 µA mM−1 to DA at 0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl and is reproducible and stable. This electrode has a respective limit of detection of 7.69 and 6.14 µM for AA and DA. Sucrose, citric acid, tartaric acid, and uric acid do not interfere with AA and DA detection. The diffusion coefficient and kinetic parameters, such as the catalytic rate constant and the heterogeneous rate constant for AA and DA, are determined using electrochemical approaches.

Sn species modified mesoporous zeolite TS-1 with oxygen vacancy for enzyme-free electrochemical H2O2 detecting

Sn species modified zeolite TS-1 with a unique mesopore structure (Sn-TS-1) and rich oxygen vacancy defects has been designed via a sol-gel method and an ion-exchange process, which can be used as an enzyme-free electrochemical sensor for H₂O₂ detection. The resultant composite Sn-TS-1 has a high BET surface area of 191 cm² g^-1, fast electron transfer, rich oxygen vacancies, and abundant active sites, showing super performance in H₂O₂ reduction with a low detection limit (0.27 μM, S/N = 3). The current is linear with H₂O₂ concentration from 1 to 1000 and 1000 to 11 000 μM, and the corresponding sensitivities are 360.4 and 80.44 μA mM^-1 cm^-1, respectively. More importantly, this Sn-TS-1 sensor also shows excellent anti-interference ability and stability. This work provides a new idea for an enzyme-free sensor for H₂O₂ detection in biological environments, which has promising potential in point-of-care (POC) testing for H₂O₂.

Synthesis of Novel One-Walled meso-Phenylboronic Acid-Functionalized Calix[4]pyrrole: A Highly Sensitive Electrochemical Sensor for Dopamine

Facile access to new one-walled meso-substituted phenylboronic acid-functionalized calix[4]pyrrole (C4P) has been revealed for the first time, starting from cost-effective and easily accessible materials. The structures of both the intermediate dipyrromethane (DPM) and the targeted functionalized C4P have been confirmed by means of ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, IR, and HRMS spectral data. The voltammetric investigations of the functionalized C4P films cast over a glassy carbon electrode (C4P-GCE) clearly establish the redox stability and redox accessibility of the boronic acid functional moiety present in the C4P framework. We demonstrate that the presence of the unique boronic acid functionality in the C4P endows it with an excellent potential for the highly sensitive electrochemical sensing of the neurotransmitter dopamine (DA). A linear correlation between the strength of the Faradaic signals corresponding to the electro-oxidation of DA over C4P-GCE and the concentration of DA was observed in a concentration range as wide as 0.165-2.302 μM. The C4P-GCE has revealed exceptional stability and reproducibility in the electrochemical sensing of DA, with a nanomolar level limit of detection as low as 15 nM.

Mechanochemical Strategies for the Preparation of SiO2-Supported AgAu Nanoalloy Catalysts

Silver-gold nanoalloys were prepared from their metal salts precursors through bottom-up mechanochemical synthesis, using one-pot or galvanic replacement reaction strategies. The nanostructures were prepared over amorphous SiO₂ as an inert supporting material, facilitating their stabilization without the use of any stabilizing agent. The nanomaterials were extensively characterized, confirming the formation of the bimetallic nanostructures. The nanoalloys were tested as catalysts in the hydrogenation of 2-nitroaniline and exhibited up to 4-fold the rate constant and up to 37% increased conversion compared to the respective single metal nanoparticles. Our approach is advantageous to produce nanoparticles with clean surfaces with available catalytic sites, directly in the solid-state and in an environmentally friendly manner.

Electrochemical Biosensing of Dopamine Neurotransmitter: A Review

Neurotransmitters are biochemical molecules that transmit a signal from a neuron across the synapse to a target cell, thus being essential to the function of the central and peripheral nervous system. Dopamine is one of the most important catecholamine neurotransmitters since it is involved in many functions of the human central nervous system, including motor control, reward, or reinforcement. It is of utmost importance to quantify the amount of dopamine since abnormal levels can cause a variety of medical and behavioral problems. For instance, Parkinson's disease is partially caused by the death of dopamine-secreting neurons. To date, various methods have been developed to measure dopamine levels, and electrochemical biosensing seems to be the most viable due to its robustness, selectivity, sensitivity, and the possibility to achieve real-time measurements. Even if the electrochemical detection is not facile due to the presence of electroactive interfering species with similar redox potentials in real biological samples, numerous strategies have been employed to resolve this issue. The objective of this paper is to review the materials (metals and metal oxides, carbon materials, polymers) that are frequently used for the electrochemical biosensing of dopamine and point out their respective advantages and drawbacks. Different types of dopamine biosensors, including (micro)electrodes, biosensing platforms, or field-effect transistors, are also described.

Recent advances in nanomaterial-modified electrical platforms for the detection of dopamine in living cells

Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter that plays essential roles in the central nervous system, including motor control, motivation, arousal, and reward. Thus, abnormal levels of dopamine directly cause several neurological diseases, including depressive disorders, addiction, and Parkinson's disease (PD). To develop a new technology to treat such diseases and disorders, especially PD, which is currently incurable, dopamine release from living cells intended for transplantation or drug screening must be precisely monitored and assessed. Owing to the advantages of miniaturisation and rapid detection, numerous electrical techniques have been reported, mostly in combination with various nanomaterials possessing specific nanoscale geometries. This review highlights recent advances in electrical biosensors for dopamine detection, with a particular focus on the use of various nanomaterials (e.g., carbon-based materials, hybrid gold nanostructures, metal oxides, and conductive polymers) on electrode surfaces to improve both sensor performance and biocompatibility. We conclude that this review will accelerate the development of electrical biosensors intended for the precise detection of metabolite release from living cells, which will ultimately lead to advances in therapeutic materials and techniques to cure various neurodegenerative disorders.