Preparation of Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor Using a Free-Standing Electrode Based on Copper Nanoparticles/Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers Composite

Mohammadpoor, Ali; Sajjadi, Sharareh; Rasouli, Mohsen; Keihan, Amir Homayoun

doi:10.30491/jabr.2024.434297.1697

Preparation of Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor Using a Free-Standing Electrode Based on Copper Nanoparticles/Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers Composite

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Ali Mohammadpoor ¹

Sharareh Sajjadi ²

Mohsen Rasouli ³

Amir Homayoun Keihan ⁴

¹ Student Research Committee, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Biology, Roudehen Branch, Islamic Azad University, Roudehen, Iran

³ SEM Lab, Central Laboratory, Amirkabir University of Technology, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Molecular Biology Research Center, Biomedicine Technologies Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

10.30491/jabr.2024.434297.1697

Abstract

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is known as a public health problem worldwide. Accurate detection of glucose concentration is crucial for managing diabetes mellitus. In this study, a non-enzymatic glucose sensor was fabricated using a free-standing electrode based on a composite of copper nanoparticles and electrospun carbon nanofibers. Materials and Methods: Copper nanoparticles/electrospun carbon nanofibers (Cu/CNFs) nanocomposite was produced using a novel strategy involving electrospinning of polyacrylonitrile/copper acetate (PAN/Cu(OAc)2), followed by thermal treatment to carbonize the PAN nanofibers and reduce Cu. CuO/CNF was also synthesized by post-heating the Cu/CNFs nanocomposite. The morphology of the Cu/CNFs nanocomposite was investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), and its composition and structure were characterized by energydispersive X-ray (EDX) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, respectively. The Cu precursor content was optimized by comparing the Raman spectra, conductivity test, and TGA analysis. After demonstrating the effective role of Cu in glucose oxidation, the Cu/CNFs and CuO/CNFs nanocomposites were used directly as free-standing working electrodes for non-enzymatic detection of glucose. The electrochemical responses of the electrodes to glucose were examined by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometric techniques.
Results: Compared to the Cu/CNF, the CuO/CNFs showed a higher sensitivity of 424.6 µA mM-1 cm-2 and a lower detection limit of 0.35 mM. Both electrodes exhibited a linear range of 2-10 mM.
Conclusions: Reasonable LOD and sensitivity for glucose detection, good selectivity, reasonable stability of one month, and acceptable reproducibility make the CuO/CNFs nanocomposite a promising candidate for the development of non-enzymatic glucose sensors.

Keywords

Copper Nanoparticles

Electrospun Carbon Nanofibers

Non-Enzymatic sensor

Glucose