Nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors for detection of amino acids

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and muscle tissue. They also play a significant role in physiological processes related to energy, recovery, mood, muscle and brain function, fat burning and stimulating growth hormone or insulin secretion. Accurate determination of amino acids in biological fluids is necessary because any changes in their normal ranges in the body warn diseases like kidney disease, liver disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer. To date, many methods such as liquid chromatography, fluorescence mass spectrometry, etc. have been used for the determination of amino acids. Compared with the above techniques, electrochemical systems using modified electrodes offer a rapid, accurate, cheap, real-time analytical path through simple operations with high selectivity and sensitivity. Nanomaterials have found many interests to create smart electrochemical sensors in different application fields e.g. biomedical, environmental, and food analysis because of their exceptional properties. This review summarizes recent advances in the development of nanomaterial-based electrochemical sensors in 2017-2022 for the detection of amino acids in various matrices such as serum, urine, blood and pharmaceuticals.

Enantioseparation/Recognition based on nano techniques/materials

Enantiomers show different behaviors in interaction with the chiral environment. Due to their identical chemical structure and their wide application in various industries, such as agriculture, medicine, pesticide, food, and so forth, their separation is of great importance. Today, the term "nano" is frequently encountered in all fields. Technology and measuring devices are moving towards miniaturization, and the usage of nanomaterials in all sectors is expanding substantially. Given that scientists have recently attempted to apply miniaturized techniques known as nano-liquid chromatography/capillary-liquid chromatography, which were originally accomplished in 1988, as well as the widespread usage of nanomaterials for chiral resolution (back in 1989), this comprehensive study was developed. Searching the terms "nano" and "enantiomer separation" on scientific websites such as Scopus, Google Scholar, and Web of Science yields articles that either use miniaturized instruments or apply nanomaterials as chiral selectors with a variety of chemical and electrochemical detection techniques, which are discussed in this article.

Rational design of highly enantioselective composite voltammetric sensors using a computationally predicted chiral modifier

The use of chiral modifiers is among the simplest and most popular strategies for synthesizing enantioselective voltammetric sensors that are applied for the analysis and discrimination of enantiomerical drugs in various media. The type and structure of the chiral modifier are the key factors for the creation of enantioselectivity to a specified analyte. We suggest a novel approach to the prediction of the quality of a chiral modifier for preparing highly enantioselective sensors. The suggested approach is based on the molecular mechanics modeling of the adsorption of analyte enantiomers on chiral modifiers and on the comparison of the corresponding adsorption energies (ΔE_ads ). The efficiency of our approach is demonstrated using the example of cyclodextrins and chiral single-wall carbon nanotubes as chiral modifiers, and a wide range of chiral analytes. We found that the experimental enantioselectivity (ϑ_exp ) measured using voltammetry linearly correlates with ΔE_ads . The suggested approach also showed good predictive power in application to enantioselective chromatography, which further validates its general applicability.

Chiral Selectors in Voltammetric Sensors Based on Mixed Phenylalanine/Alanine Cu(II) and Zn(II) Complexes

A practical application composite based on mixed chelate complexes [M(S-Ala)2(H2O)n]–[M(S-Phe)2(H2O)n] (M = Cu(II), Zn(II); n = 0–1) as chiral selectors in enantioselective voltammetric sensors was suggested. The structures of the resulting complexes were studied by XRD, ESI-MS, and IR- and NMR-spectroscopy methods. It was determined that enantioselectivity depends on the metal nature and on the structure of the mixed complex. The mixed complexes, which were suggested to be chiral selectors, were stable under the experimental conditions and provided greater enantioselectivity in the determination of chiral analytes, such as naproxen and propranolol, in comparison with the amino acids they comprise. The best results shown by the mixed copper complex [Cu(S-Ala)2]–[Cu(S-Phe)2] were: ipS/ipR = 1.27 and ΔEp = 30 mV for Nap; and ipS/ipR = 1.37 and ΔEp = 20 mV for Prp. The electrochemical and analytical characteristics of the sensors and conditions of voltammogram recordings were studied by differential pulse voltammetry. Linear relationships between the anodic current and the concentrations of Nap and Prp enantiomers were achieved in the range of 2.5 × 10−5 to 1.0 × 10−3 mol L−1 for GCE/PEC-[Cu(S-Ala)2]–[Cu(S-Phe)2] and 5.0 × 10−5 to 1.0 × 10−3 for GCE/PEC–[Zn(S-Ala)2(H2O)]–[Zn(S-Phe)2(H2O)], with detection limits (3 s/m) of 0.30–1.24 μM. The suggested sensor was used to analyze Nap and Prp enantiomers in urine and plasma samples.

Electrochemical Chiral Recognition of Tryptophan Isomers Based on Nonionic Surfactant-Assisted Molecular Imprinting Sol-Gel Silica

A new molecularly imprinted SiO₂ (MISiO₂) film on the surface of indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode was prepared by the sol-gel method and was then applied successfully in the electrochemical chiral recognition of tryptophan (Trp) isomers. Owing to the high chemical stability, excellent rigidity, and low cost, the resultant sol-gel SiO₂ is a good matrix material for molecular imprinting. Nonionic surfactant cicosaethylene glycol hexadecyl ether (Brij58) arranged directionally on the surface of the hydrophobic ITO electrode possesses a large amount of oxygen-containing functional groups and may induce the accumulation of template molecules (L-Trp) on the surface of ITO, resulting in L-MISiO₂/ITO after the removal of L-Trp templates by calcination. The characterizations of the L-MISiO₂/ITO reveal that the L-Trp templates could be successfully removed from the matrix, producing complementary cavities within the L-MISiO₂/ITO. The resultant L-MISiO₂/ITO exhibits greatly higher affinity toward L-Trp than D-Trp due to the three-point interaction mechanism, and therefore it exhibits good chiral recognition ability for the Trp isomers. In addition, the as-prepared L-MISiO₂/ITO or D-MISiO₂/ITO (D-Trp as the templates) can predict the ratio of L- and D-isomers in racemic mixture. Last, the MISiO₂ films exhibited quick binding kinetics and good recognition reproducibility.