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Nanofilm of ZnO nanocrystals/carbon nanotubes as biocompatible layer for enzymatic biosensors in capacitive field-effect devices

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Abstract

The incorporation of nanomaterials that are biocompatible with different types of biological compounds has allowed the development of a new generation of biosensors applied especially in the biomedical field. In particular, the integration of film-based nanomaterials employed in field-effect devices can be interesting to develop biosensors with enhanced properties. In this paper, we studied the fabrication of sensitive nanofilms combining ZnO nanocrystals and carbon nanotubes (CNTs), prepared by means of the layer-by-layer (LbL) technique, in a capacitive electrolyte-insulator-semiconductor (EIS) structure for detecting glucose and urea. The ZnO nanocrystals were incorporated in a polymeric matrix of poly(allylamine) hydrochloride (PAH), and arranged with multi-walled CNTs in a LbL PAH-ZnO/CNTs film architecture onto EIS chips. The electrochemical characterizations were performed by capacitance–voltage and constant capacitance measurements, while the morphology of the films was characterized by atomic force microscopy. The enzymes glucose oxidase and urease were immobilized on film’s surface for detection of glucose and urea, respectively. In order to obtain glucose and urea biosensors with optimized amount of sensitive films, we investigated the ideal number of bilayers for each detection system. The glucose biosensor showed better sensitivity and output signal for an LbL PAH-ZnO/CNTs nanofilm with 10 bilayers. On the other hand, the urea biosensor presented enhanced properties even for the first bilayer, exhibiting high sensitivity and output signal. The presence of the LbL PAH-ZnO/CNTs films led to biosensors with better sensitivity and enhanced response signal, demonstrating that the adequate use of nanostructured films is feasible for proof-of-concept biosensors with improved properties that may be employed for biomedical applications.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Brazilian Foundations CNPq (Grant 477668/2013-5), FAPEMIG (Grants APQ-01763-13 and APQ-00756-16), and Rede Mineira de Química (FAPEMIG-CEX-RED-00010-14) for the financial support. Furthermore, the authors gratefully thank Heiko Iken for technical support with the EIS chip fabrication at Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the facilities with the AFM measurements at Institute of Physics, Federal University of Uberlândia (Grant “Pró-Equipamentos”—CAPES).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Exact Sciences, Natural and Education, Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), Uberaba, MG, 38064-200, Brazil

    Paulo V. Morais, Vanderley F. Gomes Jr. & José R. Siqueira Jr.

  2. Laboratory of New Insulator and Semiconductor Materials (LNMIS), Institute of Physics, Federal University of Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, 38400-902, Brazil

    Anielle C. A. Silva & Noelio O. Dantas

  3. Institute of Nano- and Biotechnologies (INB), FH Aachen, Campus Jülich, 52428, Jülich, Germany

    Michael J. Schöning

  4. Peter Grünberg Institute (PGI-8), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425, Jülich, Germany

    Michael J. Schöning

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  1. Paulo V. Morais
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  2. Vanderley F. Gomes Jr.
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  3. Anielle C. A. Silva
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  6. José R. Siqueira Jr.
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Correspondence to José R. Siqueira Jr..

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Morais, P.V., Gomes, V.F., Silva, A.C.A. et al. Nanofilm of ZnO nanocrystals/carbon nanotubes as biocompatible layer for enzymatic biosensors in capacitive field-effect devices. J Mater Sci 52, 12314–12325 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-017-1369-y

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