Search

The authors describe a photometric method for the determination of free cholesterol based on the oxidation of cholesterol by the catalytic action of the enzyme cholesterol oxidase. The hydrogen peroxide formed is used to oxidize the chromogenic compound 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) by exploiting the peroxidase-like activity of carbon nanotube-supported Prussian blue (PB). This enzyme mimic was synthesized from a mixture of ferric chloride and hexacyanoferrate(III) in the presence of intrinsically reducing multi-walled carbon nanotubes. The composite can trigger the formation of a blue-green dye from TMB in the presence of HO. The findings were exploited to design a photometric (652 nm) assay that has a linear response in the 4 to 100 μM cholesterol concentration range and a 3 μM detection limit. The practicability of the method was verified by the successful analysis of free cholesterol in human blood samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three ferrites of type MFeO (where M is bivalent Fe, Co or Mn) dispersed on multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were prepared by a coprecipitation method. Their electrocatalytic properties toward the reduction of HO at pH 7.4 were systematically compared. Catalytic reduction rates at an applied potential of −0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl) and pseudo Michaelis-Menten constants show the electrocatalytic ability to follows the order FeO > CoFeO > MnFeO. This diversity is attributed to the differences in the M(II) used and its occupancy on the lattice surface. The sensitivities are 120.98 ± 0.15, 48.45 ± 0.23 and 32.25 ± 0.27 μA cm mM, and the limits of detection are 0.98, 2.59 and 5.64 μM of HO (at an S/N ratio of 3). [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have synthesized nitrogen-doped graphene nanoribbons (N-GrNRs) by unzipping multi-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) under strongly oxidizing conditions and subsequent doping with nitrogen by a low-temperature hydrothermal method. The N-GNRs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy, and assembled on a disposable screen-printed carbon electrode to give a sensor for HO that was characterized by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronocoulometry and chronoamperometry. The nano-modified electrode displays enhanced electron transfer ability, and has a large active surface and a large number of catalytically active sites that originate from the presence of nitrogen atoms. This results in a catalytic activity towards HO reduction at near-neutral pH values that is distinctly improved compared to electrodes modified with CNTs or unzipped (non-doped) CNTs only. At a working potential of −0.4 V (vs. Ag/AgCl), the amperometric responses to HO cover the 5 to 2785 μM concentration range, with a limit of detection as low as 1.72 μM. This enzyme-free electrochemical sensor exhibits outstanding selectivity and long-term stability for HO detection. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]