Jianfeng Ping

Simultaneous determination of ascorbic acid, dopamine and uric acid using high-performance screen-printed graphene electrode.

A disposable and sensitive screen-printed electrode using an ink containing graphene was developed. This electrode combined the advantages of graphene and the disposable characteristic of electrode, which possessed wide potential window, low background current and fast electron transfer kinetics. Compared with the electrodes made from other inks, screen-printed graphene electrode (SPGNE) showed excellent electrocatalytic activity for the oxidation of ascorbic acid (AA), dopamine (DA), and uric acid (UA). Three well-defined sharp and fully resolved anodic peaks were found at the developed electrode. Differential pulse voltammetry was used to simultaneous determination of AA, DA, and UA in their ternary mixture. In the co-existence system of these three species, the linear response ranges for the determination of AA, DA, and UA were 4.0-4500 μM, 0.5-2000 μM, and 0.8-2500 μM, respectively. The detection limits (S/N=3) were found to be 0.95 μM, 0.12 μM, and 0.20 μM for the determination of AA, DA, and UA, respectively. Furthermore, the SPGNE displayed high reproducibility and stability for these species determination. The feasibility of the developed electrode for real sample analysis was investigated. Results showed that the SPGNE could be used as a sensitive and selective sensor for simultaneous determination of AA, DA, and UA in biological samples, which may provide a promising alternative in routine sensing applications.

Direct electrochemical reduction of graphene oxide on ionic liquid doped screen-printed electrode and its electrochemical biosensing application.

A novel electrochemical biosensing platform using electrochemically reduced graphene oxide (ER-GNO) modified electrode was proposed. This modified electrode was prepared by one-step electrodeposition of the exfoliated GNO sheets onto the ionic liquid doped screen-printed electrode (IL-SPE). The resulting ER-GNO/IL-SPE brought new capabilities for electrochemical devices by combining the advantages of ER-GNO and disposable electrode. Two important biomolecules, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)), were employed to study the electrochemical performance of the ER-GNO/IL-SPE, which exhibited more favorable electron transfer kinetics than the bare IL-SPE. On the basis of the greatly enhanced electrochemical reactivity of H(2)O(2) at the developed electrode, ER-GNO and glucose oxidase constructed disposable biosensor showed better analytical performance for the glucose detection compared with the IL-SPE based biosensor. The linear range for the detection of glucose was from 5.0 μM to 12.0 mM with a detection limit of 1.0 μM. This work provides a useful avenue for implementing ER-GNO as a new generation of electrochemical transducer in disposable electrode, which could expand the scope of graphene constructed electrochemical biosensing devices and hold great promise for routine sensing applications.

Impedimetric immunosensor based on gold nanoparticles modified graphene paper for label-free detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7.

In this study, a low-cost and robust impedimetric immunosensor based on gold nanoparticles modified free-standing graphene paper electrode for rapid and sensitive detection of Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) was developed. Graphene paper was prepared by chemical reduction of graphene oxide paper obtained from vacuum filtration method. Scanning electron microscope, Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques were employed to investigate the surface morphology and crystal structure of the prepared graphene paper. The gold nanoparticles were grown on the surface of graphene paper electrode by one-step electrodeposition technique. The immobilization of anti-E. coli O157:H7 antibodies on paper electrode were performed via biotin-streptavidin system. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy was used to detect E. coli O157:H7 captured on the paper electrode. Results show that the developed paper immunosensor possesses greatly enhanced sensing performance, such as wide linear range (1.5 × 10(2)-1.5 × 10(7) cfu mL(-1)), low detection limit (1.5 × 10(2) cfu mL(-1)), and excellent specificity. Furthermore, flexible test demonstrate the graphene paper based sensing device has high tolerability to mechanical stress. The strategy of structurally integrating metal nanomaterials, graphene paper, and biorecognition molecules would provide new insight into design of flexible immunosensors for routine sensing applications.

Application of Electrochemically Reduced Graphene Oxide on Screen-Printed Ion-Selective Electrode

In this study, a novel disposable all-solid-state ion-selective electrode using graphene as the ion-to-electron transducer was developed. The graphene film was prepared on screen-printed electrode directly from the graphene oxide dispersion by a one-step electrodeposition technique. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were employed to demonstrate the large double layer capacitance and fast charge transfer of the graphene film modified electrode. On the basis of these excellent properties, an all-solid-state calcium ion-selective electrode as the model was constructed using the calcium ion-selective membrane and graphene film modified electrode. The mechanism about the graphene promoting the ion-to-electron transformation was investigated in detail. The disposable electrode exhibited a Nernstian slope (29.1 mV/decade), low detection limit (10(-5.8) M), and fast response time (less than 10 s). With the high hydrophobic character of graphene materials, no water film was formed between the ion-selective membrane and the underlying graphene layer. Further studies revealed that the developed electrode was insensitive to light, oxygen, and redox species. The use of the disposable electrode for real sample analysis obtained satisfactory results, which made it a promising alternative in routine sensing applications.

Development of an electrochemically reduced graphene oxide modified disposable bismuth film electrode and its application for stripping analysis of heavy metals in milk

A novel electrochemical sensing platform based on electrochemically reduced graphene oxide film modified screen-printed electrode was developed. This disposable electrode shows excellent conductivity and fast electron transfer kinetics. By in situ plating bismuth film, the developed electrode exhibited well-defined and separate stripping peaks for cadmium and lead. Several parameters, including electrolytes environment and electrodeposition conditions, were carefully optimized to achieve best stripping performance. The linear range for both metal ions at the disposable bismuth film electrode was from 1.0 μg L(-1) to 60.0 μg L(-1). The detection limit was 0.5 μg L(-1) for cadmium ion and 0.8 μg L(-1) for lead ion. Milk sample analysis demonstrates that the developed electrode could be effectively used to detect low levels (μg L(-1)) of cadmium ion and lead ion. Graphene based disposable bismuth film electrode is a sensitive, stable, and reliable sensing platform for heavy metals determination.

Recent advances in nanomaterial-based biosensors for antibiotics detection

Antibiotics are able to be accumulated in human body by food chain and may induce severe influence to human health and safety. Hence, the development of sensitive and simple methods for rapid evaluation of antibiotic levels is highly desirable. Nanomaterials with excellent electronic, optical, mechanical, and thermal properties have been recognized as one of the most promising materials for opening new gates in the development of next-generation biosensors. This review highlights the current advances in the nanomaterial-based biosensors for antibiotics detection. Different kinds of nanomaterials including carbon nanomaterials, metal nanomaterials, magnetic nanoparticles, up-conversion nanoparticles, and quantum dots have been applied to the construction of biosensors with two main signal-transducing mechanisms, i.e. optical and electrochemical. Furthermore, the current challenges and future prospects in this field are also included to provide an overview for future research directions.

An amperometric sensor based on Prussian blue and poly(o-phenylenediamine) modified glassy carbon electrode for the determination of hydrogen peroxide in beverages

An amperometric sensor based on Prussian blue (PB) and poly(o-phenylenediamine) (POPD) modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was developed for the determination of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). The PB film was electrodeposited onto the GCE surface by amperometry, while the POPD film was formed on the top of PB layer by cyclic voltammetry. It was found that the POPD film remarkably improved the stability and selectivity of PB-based sensor. Under the optimised conditions, the developed electrode demonstrated a wide linear range from 0.1μM to 0.12mM with the detection limit of 0.05μM. Furthermore, the developed electrode was applied for the amperometric determination of H2O2 in 10 different commercial beverages. The pretreatment of the beverage samples was the adjustment of pH value. Experimental results showed that the proposed electrode could be a useful tool to detect H2O2 in aseptically packaged beverages.

Sensitive determination of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate in tea infusion using a novel ionic liquid carbon paste electrode.

This paper investigates the electrocatalytic oxidation of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the main monomer flavanol found in green tea, with a novel ionic liquid, n-octylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (OPFP) carbon paste electrode (CPE). Due to the natural viscosity and high conductivity of OPFP, this novel OPFP-CPE exhibited very attractive properties, such as high stability and electrochemical reactivity, low background current, and wide electrochemical window. Therefore, this electrode is a very good alternative to traditional chemically modified electrodes because the electrocatalytic effect can achieved without any further electrode modification. Comparative experiments were carried out using CPE and a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). With OPFP-CPE, highly reproducible and well-defined cyclic voltammograms were obtained for EGCG. Under optimal experimental conditions, the peak current of differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) response increased linearly with EGCG concentration over the range of 5.0 × 10(-7)-1.25 × 10(-5) M. The limit of detection (LOD) and the limit of quantification (LOQ) were 1.32 × 10(-7) and 4.35 × 10(-7) M, respectively. The method was applied to the determination of EGCG in green tea infusion samples, and the recovery of the spiked EGCG to the diluted (10-fold) tea extract was from 87.62 to 99.51%.

Evaluation of Trace Heavy Metal Levels in Soil Samples Using an Ionic Liquid Modified Carbon Paste Electrode

An ionic liquid n-octylpyridinium hexafluorophosphate (OPFP) modified carbon paste electrode was developed. This ionic liquid modified carbon electrode showed better electrochemical activities compared with the traditional carbon paste electrode which employed the paraffin oil as the binder. With the electrochemically deposited bismuth film, the developed electrode exhibited well-defined and separate stripping voltammetric peaks for cadmium and lead. The linear range of the bismuth film electrode was from 1.0 μg L(-1) to 100.0 μg L(-1) for both metal ions with a deposition time of 120 s and a deposition potential of -1.2 V in pH 4.5 acetate buffer solution. The detection limit was 0.10 μg L(-1) for cadmium and 0.12 μg L(-1) for lead with a deposition time of 180 s. The electrode was also applied to determine cadmium and lead in soil sample extracts. Results suggested that the proposed electrode was sensitive, reliable and effective for the determination of trace heavy metals.

Development of an aptamer-based impedimetric bioassay using microfluidic system and magnetic separation for protein detection.

An aptamer-based impedimetric bioassay using the microfluidic system and magnetic separation was developed for the sensitive and rapid detection of protein. The microfluidic impedance device was fabricated through integrating the gold interdigitated array microelectrode into a flow cell made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Aptamer modified magnetic beads were used to capture and separate the target protein, and concentrated into a suitable volume. Then the complexes were injected into the microfluidic flow cell for impedance measurement. To demonstrate the high performance of this novel detection system, thrombin was employed as the target protein. The results showed that the impedance signals at the frequency of 90 kHz have a good linearity with the concentrations of thrombin in a range from 0.1 nM to 10nM and the detection limit is 0.01 nM. Compared with the reported impedimetric aptasensors for thrombin detection, this method possesses several advantages, such as the increasing sensitivity, improving reproducibility, reducing sample volume and assay time. All these demonstrate the proposed detection system is an alternative way to enable sensitive, rapid and specific detection of protein.