This article details the study of electrochemical behavior of new carbon electrodes based on pyrolysis of different paper sources to be used in biosensor applications. The resistivity of the pyrolyzed papers was initially used as screening parameters to select the best three paper samples (imaging card paper, multipurpose printing paper, and 3MM chromatography paper) and assemble working electrodes that were further characterized by a combination of microscopy, electrochemistry, and spectroscopy. Although slight differences in performance were observed, all carbon substrates fabricated from pyrolysis of paper allowed the development of competitive biosensors for uric acid. The presented results demonstrate the potential of these electrodes for sensing applications and highlight the potential advantages of 3MM chromatography paper as a substrate to fabricate electrodes by pyrolysis.

A one-step approach for the synthesis and integration of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) onto paper-based carbon electrodes is herein reported. The method is based on the pyrolysis (1000 °C under a mixture of 95% Ar / 5% H2 for 1 hour) of paper strips modified with a saturated solution of CuSO4 and yields to the formation of abundant CuNPs on the surface of carbonized cellulose fibers. The resulting substrates were characterized by a combination of scanning electron microscopy, EDX, Raman spectroscopy as well as electrical and electrochemical techniques. Their potential application, as working electrodes for nonenzymatic amperometric determination of glucose, was then demonstrated (linear response up to 3 mM and a sensitivity of 460 ± 8 μA·cm−2·mM−1). Besides being a simple and inexpensive process for the development of electrochemically-active substrates, this approach opens new possibilities for the in-situ synthesis of metallic nanoparticles without the traditional requirements of solutions and adjuvants.

The possibility of using pyrolyzed paper as disposable working electrodes for trace metals determination is reported for the first time. A small piece of pyrolyzed paper (0.7×0.7cm) was positioned at the bottom side of the electrochemical cell using a rubber O-ring, which defined the electrode area (0.48cm; 0.18cm). A large number of electrodes can be obtained from a single piece of standard dimensions (2.5cm×7.5cm) of paper, therefore minimizing the cost per unit. The electrochemical performance of the pyrolyzed paper was demonstrated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and by the determination of Zn, Cd, and Pb by square-wave anodic stripping voltammetry. The unmodified pyrolyzed paper showed excellent performance for Pb and Cd detection (LOD =0.19 and 0.16 ppb, respectively). In the presence of Bi(in-situ film formation), the simultaneous determination of Zn, Cd and Pb was also possible (LOD=0.26, 0.25, and 0.39 ppb, respectively).

In the fall of 1996, numerous bacteria capable of degrading JP‐7 jet fuel were isolated from soil collected at Beale Air Force Base in northern California. The most prevalent organism, identified as Nocardioides luteus by16s rRNA sequencing (MIDI Labs, Inc.), was selected for further analysis. Analysis of JP‐7 following inoculation with N. luteus demonstrated degradation of the C11 alkane component of the fuel. Growth rates of N. luteus were determined with alkanes of various lengths as the sole carbon and energy source. The organism grew best on shorter length alkanes (C8 and C10). Growth was measurably slower on C11, and minimal on C12, C13, and C14.

Conventional immunosensors typically rely on passive diffusion dominated transport of analytes for binding reaction and hence, it is limited by low sensitivity and long detection times. We report a simple and efficient impedance sensing method that can be utilized to overcome both sensitivity and diffusion limitations of immunosensors. This method incorporates the structural advantage of nanorod-covered interdigitated electrodes and the microstirring effect of AC electrothermal flow (ACET) with impedance spectroscopy. ACET flow induced by a biased AC electric field can rapidly convect the analyte onto nanorod structured electrodes within a few seconds and enriches the number of binding molecules because of excessive effective surface area. We performed numerical simulations to investigate the effect of ACET flow on the biosensor performance. The results indicated that AC bias to the side electrodes could induce fast convective flow, which facilitates the transport of the target molecules to the binding region located in the middle as a floating electrode. The temperature rise due to the Joule heating effect was measured using a thermoreflectance imaging method to find the optimum device operation conditions. The change of impedance caused by the receptors-target molecules binding at the sample/electrode interface was experimentally measured and quantified in real-time using the impedance spectroscopy technique. We observed that the impedance sensing method exhibited extremely fast response compared with those under no bias conditions. The measured impedance change can reach saturation in a minute. Compared to the conventional incubation method, the ACET flow enhanced method is faster in its reaction time, and the detection limit can be reduced to 1 ng/ml.In this work, we demonstrate that this sensor technology is promising and reliable for rapid, sensitive, and real-time monitoring biomolecules in biologically relevant media such as blood, urine, and saliva.

The growing need for biomedical contrast agents has led to the current development of multi-functional materials such as lanthanide-based nanoparticles (NPs). The optical and magnetic properties these nanoparticles (NPs) possess are important to enhance current biomedical imaging techniques. To increase the optical emissions of the nanoparticles, neodymium (Nd) and ytterbium (Yb) were introduced into a magnetic host of NaGdF. The energy transfer between Nd and the Yb was then investigated at multiple concentrations to determine the optimal dopant levels. The NaGdF:Nd,Yb nanoparticles were synthesized through a modified solvothermal method, resulting in rectangular structures, with an average side length of 17.87 ± 4.38 nm. A double dopant concentration of 10% Nd and 4% Yb was found to be optimal, increasing the emission intensity by 71.5% when compared to the widely used Nd single dopant. Decay measurements confirm energy transfer from Nd to Yb, with a lifetime shortening from Nd 1064 nm emission and a calculated lifetime of 12.72 ms with 98% efficiency. Despite NaGdF:Nd,Yb NPs showing a slight decrease in their magnetic response at the expense of optimizing optical emission, as it is directly dependent on the Gd concentration, a strong paramagnetic behavior was still observed. These results corroborate that NaGdF:Nd,Yb NPs are viable candidates for multimodal imaging.

Electrode polarization effects were investigated using impedance spectroscopy measurements for planar and nanorod-structured gold disk electrodes at 100 Hz to 1 MHz frequency range and in 0.25 S/m to 1.5 S/m conductivity KCl solutions. Diameters of planar electrodes were varied from 50 μm to 2 mm to examine the effect of electrode size on impedance spectra. Normalizing the impedance magnitude with the spreading resistance and frequency with the characteristic time scale, all experimental data collapsed onto a universal curve, proving self-similarity. Experimental impedance results were compared well with that obtained from the numerical solution of Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations in axisymmetric domain. The influence of surface morphology was also investigated by generating cylindrical nanorods on a planar electrode. The 500 μm diameter electrode surface was covered with cylindrical nanorods with known height, diameter, and separation distance, which were characterized using scanning electron microscopy. The characteristic time scale for the nanorod-structured electrode increased by the surface enlargement factor obtained by cyclic voltammetry measurements. Self-similar interfacial impedance of electrodes was modeled using a constant phase element model. Current findings describe the coupled effects of electrode diameter, electrolyte conductivity, and electrode surface morphology on the impedance spectra of electrode/electrolyte system when the electric double layer between the nanorods does not overlap.

Sub-100 nm ferromagnetic/antiferromagnetic nanodisks present enhanced magnetic properties with respect to their thin film counterparts. Co/CoO disks were fabricated over large areas by a transferring process of an anodic aluminum oxide membrane, electron beam evaporation of Co, and subsequent oxidation to CoO. This method reveals exchange bias fields up to 4 times larger than that in thin films and higher blocking temperatures for the same oxidation protocol. The significant improvement of the magnetic properties is attributed to finite-size effects in nanostructures and might be exploited in diverse areas such as the magnetic stabilization of ultradense arrays or the scalability process of patterned heterostructures in spintronic phenomena.