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In this work, a novel electrochemical immunosensor based on nitrogen doped graphene quantum dot (N-GQD) and single-walled carbon nanohorns (SWCNHs) was developed for the detection of α-fetoprotein (AFP), a cancer biomarker. Thus, to fabricate the platform of the immunosensor, nanocomposite architecture was developed by decorating N-GQD on the surface of the SWCNHs. The resulting hybrid architecture (N-GQD@SWCNHs) functioned as an exceptional base for the immobilization of antibody (Anti-AFP) through carbodiimide reaction with good stability and bioactivity. The immunosensor was prepared by evenly distributing the bioconjugates (N-GQD@SWCNHs/Anti-AFP) dispersion on the surface of the glassy carbon electrode, and subsequently blocking the remaining active sites by bovine serum albumin to prevent the nonspecific adsorption. Cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy technique was employed to investigate the assembly process of the immunosensor. Under optimal conditions, the immunosensor exhibited a broad dynamic range in between 0.001 ng/mL to 200 ng/mL and a low detection limit of 0.25 pg/mL. Furthermore, the sensor showed high selectivity, desirable stability, and reproducibility. Measurements of AFP in human serum gave outstanding recovery within 99.2% and 102.1%. Thus, this investigation and the amplification strategy exhibited a potential role of the developed nanocomposite based sensor for early clinical screening of cancer biomarkers.

A candid approach to analyze the performance characteristics of phenyl phosphonate-functionalized zirconium oxide and pure zirconium oxide (ZrO) fillers reinforced chitosan nanocomposites and their suitability as a potential biomaterial for the development of transducer surface in biosensing device has been investigated in this communication. Functionalization of ZrO has been carried out using sulfophenylphosphonate which was confirmed using Fourier transform infrared spectrographs. The electrostatic intercalation of chitosan with filler particles was monitored using electrochemical impedance analyzer which exhibits lowest bulk resistance which is highly effective for ionic switching. Incorporation of zirconium sulfophenylphosphonate (ZrSP) the ionic conductivity of the chitosan film attained a value of 1.2 × 10 S/cm as compared to the unmodified one which is a prefeasibility work for the fabrication of biosensing platform. Variation in performance characteristics has been evaluated through morphological and thermal characterization. TGA and DSC analysis reveal that the thermal stability and decomposition temperature of the nanocomposites were improved by the addition of reinforcing filler particles. XRD and SEM and TEM results support the above assumption. The continuous alignment of the proton transfer channels of the nanocomposites was thoroughly investigated by AFM analysis which revealed phase morphology for improved enzyme entrapment. Further, surface functionalized nanofillers result considerable increment of mechanical properties in terms of elastic modulus and tensile stress. Graphical Abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]