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Carbon dots-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites as a high-performance electrochemical sensor for detection of H2O2 in living cells

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Abstract

A novel enzyme-free hydrogen peroxide sensor composed of carbon dots (CDs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) was prepared. It was found that the carbon dots-decorated multi-walled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites (CDs/MWCNTs) modified glassy carbon (GC) electrode (CDs/MWCNTs/GCE) exhibited a significant synergistic electrocatalytic activity towards hydrogen peroxide reduction as compared to carbon dots or multi-walled carbon nanotubes alone, and the CDs/MWCNTs/GCE has shown a low detection limit as well as excellent stability, selectivity, and reproducibility. These remarkable analytical advantages enable the practical application of CDs/MWCNTs/GCE for the real-time tracking of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) released from human cervical cancer cells with satisfactory results. The enhanced electrochemical activity can be assigned to the edge plane-like defective sites and lattice oxygen in the CDs/MWCNTs nanocomposites due to the small amount of decoration of carbon dots on the multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Based on a facile preparation method and with good electrochemical properties, the CDs/MWCNTs nanocomposites represent a new class of carbon electrode for electrochemical sensor applications.

CDs/MWCNTs exhibited good electrocatalytic activity and stability to H2O2 reduction and can be used for real-time detection of H2O2 released from living cells.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the National Science Foundation for Excellent Young Scholar of China (21322510), Science and Technology Innovation Foundation of Jilin Province for Talents Cultivation (Grants 20150519014JH), National Science Foundation for Young Scholar of China (21505130), and Youth Foundation of Jilin Province (20140520082JH).

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  1. State Key Lab of Electroanalytical Chemistry, Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changchun, Jilin, 130022, China

    Jing Bai, Chunhe Sun & Xiue Jiang

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  1. Jing Bai
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Correspondence to Xiue Jiang.

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Bai, J., Sun, C. & Jiang, X. Carbon dots-decorated multiwalled carbon nanotubes nanocomposites as a high-performance electrochemical sensor for detection of H2O2 in living cells. Anal Bioanal Chem 408, 4705–4714 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-016-9554-4

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