title: Optimized design of a nanostructured SPCE-based multipurpose biosensing platform formed by ferrocene-tethered electrochemically-deposited cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles.
abstract: The demand for on-site nanodevices is constantly increasing. The technology development for the design of such devices is highly regarded. In this work, we report the design of a disposable platform that is structured with cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles (cfAuNPs) and we show its applications in immunosensing and enzyme-based detection. The electrochemical reduction of Au(III) allows for the electrodeposition of highly dispersed cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles on the surface of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs). The nanostructures were functionalized using ferrocenylmethyl lipoic acid ester which allowed for the tethering of the ferrocene group to gold, which serves as an electrochemical transducer/mediator. The bioconjugation of the surface with anti-human IgG antibody (α-hIgG) or horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme yields biosensors, which have been applied for the selective electrochemical detection of human IgG (hIgG) or H2O2 as model analytes, respectively. Parameters such as the number of sweeps, amount of charge generated from the oxidation of the electrodeposited gold, time of incubation and concentration of the ferrocene derivatives have been studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Selectivity and specificity tests have been also performed in the presence of potentially interfering substances to either hIgG or H2O2. Results showed that the devised immunosensor is endowed with good selectivity and specificity in the presence of several folds of competitive analytes. The enzyme-based platform showed a good catalytic activity towards H2O2 oxidation which predestined it to potential applications pertaining to enzymatic kinetics studies. The levels of hIgG in human serum and H2O2 in honey were successfully determined and served as assessment tools of the applicability of the platforms for real samples analysis.
authors.affiliation: University of Tunis El-Manar, Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (LR99ES15), campus universitaire de Tunis El-Manar 2092, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Wicem
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Argoubi
authors.affiliation: University of Tunis El-Manar, Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (LR99ES15), campus universitaire de Tunis El-Manar 2092, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Maroua
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Saadaoui
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, PO. Box 30002 Al-Madinah Al-Munawarah, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: Sami
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ben Aoun
authors.affiliation: University of Tunis El-Manar, Chemistry Department, Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry and Electrochemistry (LR99ES15), campus universitaire de Tunis El-Manar 2092, Tunis, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Noureddine
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Raouafi
keywords: IgG sensing; cauliflower-shaped gold nanoparticles; enzymatic detection; nanotechnology; optimized design; screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) nanostructuration