A novel enzyme-free FI-amperometric glucose biosensor at Cu nanoparticles modified graphite pencil electrode

Biomimetic Exogenous "Tissue Batteries" as Artificial Power Sources for Implantable Bioelectronic Devices Manufacturing

Implantable bioelectronic devices (IBDs) have gained attention for their capacity to conformably detect physiological and pathological signals and further provide internal therapy. However, traditional power sources integrated into these IBDs possess intricate limitations such as bulkiness, rigidity, and biotoxicity. Recently, artificial "tissue batteries" (ATBs) have diffusely developed as artificial power sources for IBDs manufacturing, enabling comprehensive biological-activity monitoring, diagnosis, and therapy. ATBs are on-demand and designed to accommodate the soft and confining curved placement space of organisms, minimizing interface discrepancies, and providing ample power for clinical applications. This review presents the near-term advancements in ATBs, with a focus on their miniaturization, flexibility, biodegradability, and power density. Furthermore, it delves into material-screening, structural-design, and energy density across three distinct categories of TBs, distinguished by power supply strategies. These types encompass innovative energy storage devices (chemical batteries and supercapacitors), power conversion devices that harness power from human-body (biofuel cells, thermoelectric nanogenerators, bio-potential devices, piezoelectric harvesters, and triboelectric devices), and energy transfer devices that receive and utilize external energy (radiofrequency-ultrasound energy harvesters, ultrasound-induced energy harvesters, and photovoltaic devices). Ultimately, future challenges and prospects emphasize ATBs with the indispensability of bio-safety, flexibility, and high-volume energy density as crucial components in long-term implantable bioelectronic devices.

Fabrication of a Novel Optical Glucose Biosensor Using Copper(II) Neocuproine as a Chromogenic Oxidant and Glucose Dehydrogenase-Immobilized Magnetite Nanoparticles

This study describes a novel optical glucose biosensor based on a colorimetric reaction between reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and a copper(II) neocuproine complex ([Cu(Nc)2]2+) as a chromogenic oxidant. An enzymatic reaction takes place between glucose and glucose dehydrogenase (GDH)-chitosan (CS) immobilized on silanized magnetite nanoparticles (CS@SiO2@Fe3O4) in the presence of coenzyme NAD+. The oxidation of glucose to gluconolactone via the immobilized enzyme is coupled with the reduction of NAD+ to NADH at the same time. After the separation of GDH-immobilized SiO2@Fe3O4 with a magnet, the enzymatically produced NADH chemically reduces the chromogenic oxidant cupric neocuproine to the cuprous chelate. Thus, the glucose biosensor is fabricated based on the measurement of the absorbance of the formed yellow-orange complex ([Cu(Nc)2]+) at 450 nm. The obtained results show that the colorimetric biosensor has a wide linear response range for glucose, between 1.0 and 150.0 μM under optimized conditions. The limit of detection and limit of quantification were found to be 0.31 and 1.02 μM, respectively. The selectivity properties of the fabricated biosensor were tested with various interfering species. This biosensor was applied to various samples, and the obtained results suggest that the fabricated optical biosensor can be successfully used for the selective and sensitive determination of glucose in real samples.

Non-enzymatic glucose sensing using a nickel hydroxide/chitosan modified screen-printed electrode incorporated into a flow injection analysis system

This works presents a novel screen-printed carbon electrode modified with nickel hydroxide nanoparticles and chitosan (Ni(OH)2/CS/SPCE) for the non-enzymatic flow injection amperometric detection of glucose. The electrode was modified by drop-casting a suspension of the synthesised nanocomposite onto the screen-printed electrode and dried for 1 hour at room temperature. EDX analysis was used to investigate the chemical composition of the electrode before and after modifying. The electrochemical response of the unmodified SPCE and modified electrode was initially investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) using 0.1 M NaOH as the supporting electrolyte. CVs showed catalytic activity for glucose oxidation using the Ni(OH)2/CS/SPCE at 0.55 V. During flow injection analysis (FIA), 0.60 V and 1.5 mL min-1 were identified as the optimal potential and flow rate, respectively. A wide linear range of detection was observed (0.2 to 10.0 mM) with a sensitivity and limit of detection of 913 μA mM-1 cm-2 and 0.0174 mM, respectively. The modified electrode also displayed excellent repeatability (RSD = 0.47%, n = 20) and good reproducibility (RSD = 2.52%, n = 6). The modified electrode was shown to be very selectivity for glucose over other interferences commonly found in human blood samples. The practicality of the developed flow injection-amperometric system (FIA-Amp) was validated by the quantification of glucose in real serum samples, where results were in close agreement with those obtained from the local hospital.

Growth of nanostructured Cu3Al alloy films by magnetron sputtering for non-enzymatic glucose-sensing applications

Enzymatic glucose sensors usually exhibit excellent sensitivity and selectivity but suffer from poor stability due to the negative influence of temperature and humidity on enzyme molecules. As compared to enzymatic glucose sensors, non-enzymatic counterparts are generally more stable but are facing challenges in concurrently improving both sensitivity and selectivity of a trace amount of glucose molecules in physiological samples such as saliva and sweat. Here, a novel non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on nanostructured Cu₃Al alloy films has been fabricated by a facile magnetron-sputtering followed by controllable electrochemical etching approach. Since the metal Al is more reductive than Cu, by selectively etching aluminum in the Cu₃Al alloys, nanostructured alloy films were obtained with increased surface contact area and electrocatalytic active sites which resulted in enhanced glucose-sensing performance. Thus, non-enzymatic glucose sensors based on nanostructured Cu₃Al alloy films not only exhibited a high sensitivity of 1680 μA mM^-1 cm^-2 but also achieved a reliable selectivity to glucose without interference by other species in physiological samples. Consequently, this study sparked the potential for the development of non-enzymatic biosensors for the continuous monitoring of blood glucose levels with high sensitivity and impressive selectivity for glucose molecules.

Electrochemical sensors based on metal nanoparticles with biocatalytic activity

Biosensors have attracted a great deal of attention, as they allow for the translation of the standard laboratory-based methods into small, portable devices. The field of biosensors has been growing, introducing innovations into their design to improve their sensing characteristics and reduce sample volume and user intervention. Enzymes are commonly used for determination purposes providing a high selectivity and sensitivity; however, their poor shelf-life is a limiting factor. Researchers have been studying the possibility of substituting enzymes with other materials with an enzyme-like activity and improved long-term stability and suitability for point-of-care biosensors. Extra attention is paid to metal and metal oxide nanoparticles, which are essential components of numerous enzyme-less catalytic sensors. The bottleneck of utilising metal-containing nanoparticles in sensing devices is achieving high selectivity and sensitivity. This review demonstrates similarities and differences between numerous metal nanoparticle-based sensors described in the literature to pinpoint the crucial factors determining their catalytic performance. Unlike other reviews, sensors are categorised by the type of metal to study their catalytic activity dependency on the environmental conditions. The results are based on studies on nanoparticle properties to narrow the gap between fundamental and applied research. The analysis shows that the catalytic activity of nanozymes is strongly dependent on their intrinsic properties (e.g. composition, size, shape) and external conditions (e.g. pH, type of electrolyte, and its chemical composition). Understanding the mechanisms behind the metal catalytic activity and how it can be improved helps designing a nanozyme-based sensor with the performance matching those of an enzyme-based device.

Glucose determination using amperometric non-enzymatic sensor based on electroactive poly(caffeic acid)@MWCNT decorated with CuO nanoparticles

A novel non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on poly(caffeic acid)@multi-walled carbon nanotubes decorated with CuO nanoparticles (PCA@MWCNT-CuO) was developed. The described approach involves the complexation/accumulation of Cu(II) on PCA@MWCNT followed by electrochemical CuO deposition in an alkaline electrolyte. The morphology and surface characteristics of the nanomaterial were determined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), Raman spectroscopy, and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). A hybrid-support sensor device was then developed to assess the glucose concentration in different solutions. The sensitivity of the electrode is 2412 μA mM^-1 cm^-2. The electrode exhibited a broad linear range of 2 µM to 9 mM and a low limit of detection (LOD) of 0.43 µM (relative standard deviation, RSD = 2.3%) at + 0.45 V vs Ag/AgCl. The excellent properties obtained for glucose detection were most likely due to the synergistic effect of the combination of individual components: poly(caffeic acid), MWCNTs, and CuO. Good accuracy and high precision were demonstrated for quantifying glucose concentrations in human serum and blood samples (the recovery ranged from 95.0 to 99.5%). The GC/PCA@MWCNT-CuO sensor represents a novel, simple, and low-cost approach to the fabrication of devices for amperometric sensing of glucose.

Metal Nanoparticles for Electrochemical Sensing: Progress and Challenges in the Clinical Transition of Point-of-Care Testing

With the rise in public health awareness, research on point-of-care testing (POCT) has significantly advanced. Electrochemical biosensors (ECBs) are one of the most promising candidates for the future of POCT due to their quick and accurate response, ease of operation, and cost effectiveness. This review focuses on the use of metal nanoparticles (MNPs) for fabricating ECBs that has a potential to be used for POCT. The field has expanded remarkably from its initial enzymatic and immunosensor-based setups. This review provides a concise categorization of the ECBs to allow for a better understanding of the development process. The influence of structural aspects of MNPs in biocompatibility and effective sensor design has been explored. The advances in MNP-based ECBs for the detection of some of the most prominent cancer biomarkers (carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), cancer antigen 125 (CA125), Herceptin-2 (HER2), etc.) and small biomolecules (glucose, dopamine, hydrogen peroxide, etc.) have been discussed in detail. Additionally, the novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) ECBs have been briefly discussed. Beyond that, the limitations and challenges that ECBs face in clinical applications are examined and possible pathways for overcoming these limitations are discussed.