Dedi Futra

A novel electrochemical sensor for 17β-estradiol from molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres and multi-walled carbon nanotubes grafted with gold nanoparticles

Molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) are generally a more stable material for sensing application. The high selectivity and sensitivity of MIPs for sensors can be achieved if the template molecule is imprinted in the polymer and this makes them an ideal alternative as a recognition element for sensors. A new electrochemical sensor based on molecularly imprinted polymeric microspheres (MIPs) and multi-walled carbon nanotube/gold nanoparticle (MIP–MWCNT–AuNP) modified carbon screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) for the rapid detection of 17β-estradiol (E) hormone in serum samples has been successfully developed. Hydrophobic MIPs were synthesized using photopolymerization in emulsion form. The multi-walled carbon nanotube grafted with gold nanoparticles was firstly deposited onto a carbon screen-printed electrode for the purpose of accelerating electron transfer to the surface of the electrode. The MIP microspheres specific to the 17β-estradiol hormone, prepared via a facile photopolymerization technique, were coated onto the MWCNT–AuNP modified SPE. The presence of 17β-estradiol in biological samples could be detected with the sensor via absorption of 17β-estradiol into the deposited MIPs and this was monitored by differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) at 0.6 V for the reduction of 17β-estradiol. Under optimal conditions, the sensor could detect the concentrations of 17β-estradiol from 1.0 × 10−15 to 1.0 × 10−6 M (R2 = 0.9921), with a detection limit of 2.5 × 10−16 M. The sensor based on MIP microspheres and the MWCNT–AuNP modified electrode demonstrated a stability of 55 days with good reproducibility (RSD < 5%, n = 5) and regenerability (RSD < 4%, n = 5). Using this sensor, the gender of the arowana fish determined via the level of 17β-estradiol using fish serum samples demonstrated good agreement with a conventional test kit based on the immuno-assay method.

Microencapsulated Aliivibrio fischeri in Alginate Microspheres for Monitoring Heavy Metal Toxicity in Environmental Waters

In this article a luminescence fiber optic biosensor for the microdetection of heavy metal toxicity in waters based on the marine bacterium Aliivibrio fischeri (A. fischeri) encapsulated in alginate microspheres is described. Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Cr(VI), Co(II), Ni(II), Ag(I) and Fe(II) were selected as sample toxic heavy metal ions for evaluation of the performance of this toxicity microbiosensor. The loss of bioluminescence response from immobilized A. fischeri bacterial cells corresponds to changes in the toxicity levels. The inhibition of the luminescent biosensor response collected at excitation and emission wavelengths of 287 ± 2 nm and 487 ± 2 nm, respectively, was found to be reproducible and repeatable within the relative standard deviation (RSD) range of 2.4–5.7% (n = 8). The toxicity biosensor based on alginate micropsheres exhibited a lower limit of detection (LOD) for Cu(II) (6.40 μg/L), Cd(II) (1.56 μg/L), Pb(II) (47 μg/L), Ag(I) (18 μg/L) than Zn(II) (320 μg/L), Cr(VI) (1,000 μg/L), Co(II) (1700 μg/L), Ni(II) (2800 μg/L), and Fe(III) (3100 μg/L). Such LOD values are lower when compared with other previous reported whole cell toxicity biosensors using agar gel, agarose gel and cellulose membrane biomatrices used for the immobilization of bacterial cells. The A. fischeri bacteria microencapsulated in alginate biopolymer could maintain their metabolic activity for a prolonged period of up to six weeks without any noticeable changes in the bioluminescence response. The bioluminescent biosensor could also be used for the determination of antagonistic toxicity levels for toxicant mixtures. A comparison of the results obtained by atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) and using the proposed luminescent A. fischeri-based biosensor suggests that the optical toxicity biosensor can be used for quantitative microdetermination of heavy metal toxicity in environmental water samples.

An optical biosensor from green fluorescent Escherichia coli for the evaluation of single and combined heavy metal toxicities.

A fluorescence-based fiber optic toxicity biosensor based on genetically modified Escherichia coli (E. coli) with green fluorescent protein (GFP) was developed for the evaluation of the toxicity of several hazardous heavy metal ions. The toxic metals include Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Cr(VI), Co(II), Ni(II), Ag(I) and Fe(III). The optimum fluorescence excitation and emission wavelengths of the optical biosensor were 400 ± 2 nm and 485 ± 2 nm, respectively. Based on the toxicity observed under optimal conditions, the detection limits of Cu(II), Cd(II), Pb(II), Zn(II), Cr(VI), Co(II), Ni(II), Ag(I) and Fe(III) that can be detected using the toxicity biosensor were at 0.04, 0.32, 0.46, 2.80, 100, 250, 400, 720 and 2600 μg/L, respectively. The repeatability and reproducibility of the proposed biosensor were 3.5%–4.8% RSD (relative standard deviation) and 3.6%–5.1% RSD (n = 8), respectively. The biosensor response was stable for at least five weeks, and demonstrated higher sensitivity towards metal toxicity evaluation when compared to a conventional Microtox assay.

An amperometric biosensor for the determination of bacterial sepsis biomarker, secretory phospholipase group 2-IIA using a tri-enzyme system

A tri-enzyme system consisting of choline kinase/choline oxidase/horseradish peroxidase was used in the rapid and specific determination of the biomarker for bacterial sepsis infection, secretory phospholipase Group 2-IIA (sPLA2-IIA). These enzymes were individually immobilized onto the acrylic microspheres via succinimide groups for the preparation of an electrochemical biosensor. The reaction of sPLA2-IIA with its substrate initiated a cascading enzymatic reaction in the tri-enzyme system that led to the final production of hydrogen peroxide, which presence was indicated by the redox characteristics of potassium ferricyanide, K3Fe(CN)6. An amperometric biosensor based on enzyme conjugated acrylic microspheres and gold nanoparticles composite coated onto a carbon-paste screen printed electrode (SPE) was fabricated and the current measurement was performed at a low potential of 0.20 V. This enzymatic biosensor gave a linear range 0.01–100 ng/mL (R2 = 0.98304) with a detection limit recorded at 5 × 10−3 ng/mL towards sPLA2-IIA. Moreover, the biosensor showed good reproducibility (relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.04% (n = 5). The biosensor response was reliable up to 25 days of storage at 4 °C. Analysis of human serum samples for sPLA2-IIA indicated that the biosensor has potential for rapid bacterial sepsis diagnosis in hospital emergency department.

An ultrasensitive hollow-silica-based biosensor for pathogenic Escherichia coli DNA detection

AbstractA novel electrochemical DNA biosensor for ultrasensitive and selective quantitation of Escherichia coli DNA based on aminated hollow silica spheres (HSiSs) has been successfully developed. The HSiSs were synthesized with facile sonication and heating techniques. The HSiSs have an inner and an outer surface for DNA immobilization sites after they have been functionalized with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. From field emission scanning electron microscopy images, the presence of pores was confirmed in the functionalized HSiSs. Furthermore, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis indicated that the HSiSs have four times more surface area than silica spheres that have no pores. These aminated HSiSs were deposited onto a screen-printed carbon paste electrode containing a layer of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) to form a AuNP/HSiS hybrid sensor membrane matrix. Aminated DNA probes were grafted onto the AuNP/HSiS-modified screen-printed electrode via imine covalent bonds with use of glutaraldehyde cross-linker. The DNA hybridization reaction was studied by differential pulse voltammetry using an anthraquinone redox intercalator as the electroactive DNA hybridization label. The DNA biosensor demonstrated a linear response over a wide target sequence concentration range of 1.0×10-12–1.0×10-2 μM, with a low detection limit of 8.17×10-14 μM (R2 = 0.99). The improved performance of the DNA biosensor appeared to be due to the hollow structure and rough surface morphology of the hollow silica particles, which greatly increased the total binding surface area for high DNA loading capacity. The HSiSs also facilitated molecule diffusion through the silica hollow structure, and substantially improved the overall DNA hybridization assay. Graphical abstractStep-by-step DNA biosensor fabrication based on aminated hollow silica spheres

Aminated hollow silica spheres for electrochemical DNA biosensor

An electrochemical DNA biosensor for e.coli determination based on aminated hollow silica was successfully developed. Aminated hollow silica spheres were prepared through the reaction of Tween 20 template and silica precursor. The template was removed by the thermal decomposition at 620°C. Hollow silica spheres were modified with (3-Aminopropyl) triethoxysilane (APTS) to form aminated hollow silica spheres.Aminated DNA probe were covalently immobilized on to the amine functionalized hollow silica spheres through glutaradehyde linkers. The formation hollow silica was characterized using FTIR and FESEM. A range of 50-300nm particle size obtained from FESEM micrograph. Meanwhile for the electrochemical study, a quasi-reversible system has been obtain via cyclic voltammetry (CV).

Environmental Toxicity and Evaluation

The basic concept of environmental toxicity and its importance in the evaluation of ecosystem health will be introduced. Toxicity evaluation theory and practice will be briefly discussed. Traditional techniques such as bioassays for environmental toxicity evaluation will be introduced where the advantages and disadvantages will be presented. But the main focus of environmental toxicity evaluation will be on the use of more recent techniques for rapid environmental toxicity assessments such as toxicity biosensor and its basic concept, current applications, and future prospects.

Development of an electrochemical biosensor methods based on acrylic microsphere for the determination of Arowana DNA hybridization

An electrochemical method of Arowana DNA determination based of N-acrylosuccinimide (NAS) modified acrylic microsphere was fabricated. Hydrophobic succinimide functional group containing poly(n-butylacrylate-N-acryloxysuccinimide) microspheres were synthesized with a simple one-step photopolymerization pocedure. Aminated DNA probe was covalently bonded to the succinimde functional group of the acrylic microspheres. The hybridization of the immobilized DNA probe with the complementary DNA was determined by the differential pulse voltametry using anthraquninone-2-sulfonic acid monohydrate sodium salt (AQMS) as the electroactive hybridization label. The influences of many factors such as duration of DNA probe immobilization and hybridization, operational temperature and non-complementary DNA on the biosensor performance were evaluated. Under optimized conditions, the DNA microbiosensor demonstrated a wide linear response range to target DNA is 1.0 × 10−16 and 1.0 × 10−8 M with a lower limit of detection (LOD) of 9.46 × 10−17 M (R2 = 0.99) were calculated. This biosensor had improved the overall analytical performance of the resultant DNA microbiosensor when compared with other reported DNA biosensors using other nano-materials for membranes and microspheres as DNA immobilization matrices.An electrochemical method of Arowana DNA determination based of N-acrylosuccinimide (NAS) modified acrylic microsphere was fabricated. Hydrophobic succinimide functional group containing poly(n-butylacrylate-N-acryloxysuccinimide) microspheres were synthesized with a simple one-step photopolymerization pocedure. Aminated DNA probe was covalently bonded to the succinimde functional group of the acrylic microspheres. The hybridization of the immobilized DNA probe with the complementary DNA was determined by the differential pulse voltametry using anthraquninone-2-sulfonic acid monohydrate sodium salt (AQMS) as the electroactive hybridization label. The influences of many factors such as duration of DNA probe immobilization and hybridization, operational temperature and non-complementary DNA on the biosensor performance were evaluated. Under optimized conditions, the DNA microbiosensor demonstrated a wide linear response range to target DNA is 1.0 × 10−16 and 1.0 × 10−8 M with a lower limit of detection (LOD...