Raluca Buiculescu

The stabilization of Au NP–AChE nanocomposites by biosilica encapsulation for the development of a thiocholine biosensor

We report on the construction of an amperometric biosensor based on the immobilization of the enzyme acetylcholinesterase (AChE) onto gold nanoparticles (Au NPs). The active enzyme is covalently bound directly onto the surface of the Au NPs via a thiol bond. This immobilization provides increased stability and high electron-transfer between the colloidal Au NPs, the catalyst and the transducer surface. To further increase the biosensor stability by protecting the enzyme from denaturation and protease attack, a layer of biosilica was grown around the Au NP enzyme nanocomposite. All steps, i.e., the conjugation of the enzyme to the gold nanoparticles and the encapsulation into biosilica, are monitored and confirmed by ATR-FT-IR spectroscopy. The stabilizing effect of the entrapment was evaluated amperometrically, while the operation of the biosensor was monitored over a period of 4 months. The initial sensitivity of the biosensor was calculated to be 27.58 nA mM(-1) with a linear response to the concentration of the substrate in the range from 0.04 to 0.4 mM. It is thus shown that the biosilica nanocomposites doped with Au NPs-AChE conjugates create a system that provides both signal mediation and significant enzyme stabilization over the existing AChE biosensor. The biosensor had retained all its activity at the end of the 4 months, compared with the normal AChE biosensor whose activity reached 50% after only 42 days of operation.

Electrical behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotube network embedded in amorphous silicon nitride

The electrical behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotube network embedded in amorphous silicon nitride is studied by measuring the voltage and temperature dependences of the current. The microstructure of the network is investigated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. The multi-walled carbon nanotube network has an uniform spatial extension in the silicon nitride matrix. The current-voltage and resistance-temperature characteristics are both linear, proving the metallic behavior of the network. The I-V curves present oscillations that are further analyzed by computing the conductance-voltage characteristics. The conductance presents minima and maxima that appear at the same voltage for both bias polarities, at both 20 and 298 K, and that are not periodic. These oscillations are interpreted as due to percolation processes. The voltage percolation thresholds are identified with the conductance minima.

Carbon-Nanofiber-Based Nanocomposite Membrane as a Highly Stable Solid-State Junction for Reference Electrodes

There is currently a need for a reliable solid-state reference electrode, especially in applications such as autonomous sensing or long-term environmental monitoring. We present here for the first time a novel solid-state nanofiber junction reference electrode (NFJRE) incorporating a junction consisting of poly(methyl methacrylate) and carbon graphene stacked nanofibers. The NFJRE operates by using the membrane polymer junction, which has a very high glass transition temperature (T(g)) and small diffusion coefficient, to control the diffusion of ions, and the carbon nanofibers lower the junction resistance and act as ion-to-electron transducers. The fabrication of the NFJRE is detailed, and its behavior is characterized in terms of its impedance, stability, and behavior in comparison with traditional reference electrodes. The NFJRE showed a response of <5-13 mV toward a variety of electrolyte solutions from 10(-5) to 10(-2) M, <10 mV over a pH range of 2-12, and excellent behavior when used with voltammetric methods.

Electrochemistry of Aqueous Colloidal Graphene Oxide on Pt Electrodes

The electrochemical behavior of colloidal solutions of graphene oxide (GO) is described here in detail. The GO reduction is shown to exhibit near-reversible electron transfer on Pt electrodes, based on E1/2 and ΔEp values. The observed peak current is found to depend linearly on the concentration of the GO and the square root of the scan rate, suggesting that the response is diffusion-limited. The difference between the experimental and diffusion-only limited theoretical current values suggests that migration may be hindering mass transport to the electrode surface. Varying the type and concentration of the supporting electrolyte showed that mass transport is weakly influenced by the presence of negative charges on the graphene particles. The effect of pH on GO was also investigated, and it was found that the reduction peak heights were directly related to proton concentration in acidic solutions. On the basis of the results presented here, we propose that the observed response of GO on Pt electrodes is a result of the reduction of protons from the colloidal double layer. This difference is observed only because the Pt electrode surface can efficiently catalyze proton reduction.

RF NEMS based on carbon nanotubes and graphene

This paper presents RF-NEMS devices (resonators, oscillators and switches) for microwave applications based on carbon nanotube and graphene. We have demonstrated that innovative and cost-effective devices with good performances can be produced combining the NEMS principles and microwave techniques.

Investigation of electrical properties of carbon nanotubes

This paper presents the investigation of electrical properties of carbon nanotubes (CNT). A sandwich configuration, quartz substrate/Cr/Al/CNT (partially immersed in SiN)/Cr/Al was investigated. The CNT are mainly oriented parallel with the electrodes. Current - voltage characteristics were taken at 20 K and room temperature and a current - temperature characteristic was taken at constant voltage (20 mV). The I - V characteristics are almost linear, while the G - V characteristics present some peaks and dips, interpreted as voltage percolation thresholds. The I - T and R - T characteristics are also linear (except at low temperatures). The investigated structures have a high electrical polarizability.

Semiconductor quantum dots as highly effective biosensing tools

In this paper, highly luminescent core/shell CdSe/ZnS quantum dots have been used in the construction of two sensing systems for the detection of oligonucleotide hybridization and enzymatic reaction by covalent binding the biomolecules directly to the surface of the quantum dots. It is shown that the oligonucleotide-modified quantum dots have proven to be able to detect large sequences of mismatched bases through the hybridization process, while the system based on biosilica encapsulated enzyme-modified quantum dots was found to be suitable for monitoring low substrate concentrations in solution and with a storage lifetime of more than 2 months.

The applications of carbon nanostructures and semiconductor materials in the development of biosensors

In recent years, nanomaterials and nanostructures with unique chemical, physical, and mechanical properties have been developed and applied as both sensing matrices and transducers, offering new opportunities for the development of highly sensitive bio-chemical sensors. The chemical and physical characteristics of the electrochemically active carbon nanotubes, nanofibers and fullerenes, as well as their potential applications in biosensors will be first analyzed. In addition, the advances that have been made in the area of biosensors based on semiconductor materials and quantum dots will be presented. The advantages of the use of these two families of nanomaterials in the design of new devices are thus very promising towards future envisioned biosensor applications.