Jixia Song

Simple and rapid voltammetric determination of morphine at electrochemically pretreated glassy carbon electrodes

A simple and rapid method for morphine detection has been described based on electrochemical pretreatment of glassy carbon electrode (GCE) which was treated by anodic oxidation at 1.75 V, following potential cycling in the potential range from 0 V to 1.0 V vs. Ag|AgCl reference electrode. The sensitivity for morphine detection was improved greatly and the detection limit was 0.2 microM. The reproducibility of the voltammetric measurements was usually less than 3% RSD for six replicate measurements. Moreover, this method could readily discriminate morphine from codeine. And an electrochemical detection of morphine in spiked urine sample was succeeded with satisfactory results.

Electrochemical determination of morphine at ordered mesoporous carbon modified glassy carbon electrode.

A sensitive electrochemical detection scheme for morphine has been proposed by utilizing the ordered mesoporous carbon modified glassy carbon electrode (OMC/GCE). The electrochemical behaviour of morphine at the OMC/GCE was investigated by cyclic voltammetry. The modified electrode displayed a decrease in the overpotential (ca. 82mV) and an obvious increase in the peak current (80 times) compared to the bare glassy carbon electrode (GCE). The results indicated that OMC/GCE remarkably enhanced electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of morphine. Linear response was found over the range from 0.1 microM to 20 microM with a high sensitivity of 1.74 microA/microM and low detection limit of 10 nM (S/N=3). And the relative standard deviation was 0.86% (n=5). Moreover, combining with a medium-exchange procedure, the OMC/GCE has also been successfully applied to the selective determination of morphine in urine samples with a low detection limit of 50 nM and satisfied recovery of 96.4%. The good results indicate that the OMC/GCE holds great promise in practical application.

Direct electrochemistry of glucose oxidase and biosensing for glucose based on carbon nanotubes@SnO2-Au composite

Multiwalled carbon nanotubes@SnO(2)-Au (MWCNTs@SnO(2)-Au) composite was synthesized by a chemical route. The structure and composition of the MWCNTs@SnO(2)-Au composite were confirmed by means of transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron and Raman spectroscopy. Due to the good electrocatalytic property of MWCNTs@SnO(2)-Au composite, a glucose biosensor was constructed by absorbing glucose oxidase (GOD) on the hybrid material. A direct electron transfer process is observed at the MWCNTs@SnO(2)-Au/GOD-modified glassy carbon electrode. The glucose biosensor has a linear range from 4.0 to 24.0mM, which is suitable for glucose determination by real samples. It should be worthwhile noting that, from 4.0 to 12.0mM, the cathodic peak currents of the biosensor decrease linearly with increasing the glucose concentrations in human blood. Meanwhile, the resulting biosensor can also prevent the effects of interfering species. Moreover, the biosensor exhibits satisfying reproducibility, good operational stability and storage stability. Therefore, the MWCNTs@SnO(2)-Au/GOD biocomposite could be promisingly applied to determine blood sugar concentration in the practical clinical analysis.

Reinforcement of silica with single-walled carbon nanotubes through covalent functionalization

Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) as reinforcing components were extended into silica monoliths and thin films via covalent functionalization for the first time. Silica materials have poor mechanical attributes, which limit their applications. Because of the extreme flexibility of SWCNTs and their large interfacial area, they may be very intriguing as reinforcing fillers for the silica matrix. To get more uniform dispersion and stronger interfacial interaction, SWCNTs were covalently functionalized with silane, and then integrated into silica via a sol–gel process, and their properties were also compared with those of pristine SWCNTs. Results show that the silane-functionalized nanotubes resulted in better mechanical properties (for example, 33% increase in stress, and 53% increase in toughness), as well as higher electron-transfer kinetics.

One step to detect the latent fingermarks with gold nanoparticles

A simple and environment friendly chemical route for detecting latent fingermarks by one-step single-metal nanoparticles deposition method (SND) was achieved successfully on several non-porous items. Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) synthesized using sodium borohydride as reducing agent in the presence of glucose, were used as working solution for latent fingermarks detection. The SND technique just needs one step to obtain clear ridge details in a wide pH range (2.5-5.0), whereas the standard multi-metal deposition (MMD) technique requires six baths in a narrow pH range (2.5-2.8). The SND is very convenient to detect latent fingermarks in forensic scene or laboratory for forensic operators. The SND technique provided sharp and clear development of latent fingermarks, without background staining, dramatically diminished the bath steps.

Direct electrochemical generation of conducting polymer micro-rings

Self-doped polyaniline (PANI) micro-rings have been successfully generated electrochemically. The polymer forming rings were about 100 nm wide, and the ring diameter is tunable from several to dozens of micrometres depending on deferent current densities. The morphology of such nanostructured polyaniline rings was investigated and further confirmed with field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). Furthermore, the film was characterized using UV/visible spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. The bubble template formation mechanism of the micro-rings was also proposed. Such nanostructured materials synthesized electrochemically open up a new approach to surface morphology control.