Graphene, a single atom thick layer of two-dimensional closely packed honeycomb carbon lattice, and its derivatives have attracted much attention in the field of biomedical, due to its unique physicochemical properties. The valuable physicochemical properties, such as high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity, remarkable biocompatibility and ease of surface functionalization have shown great potentials in the applications of graphene-based bioelectronics devices, including electrochemical biosensors for biomarker analysis. In this review, we will provide a selective overview of recent advances on synthesis methods of graphene and its derivatives, as well as its application to electrochemical biosensor development. We believe the topics discussed here are useful, and able to provide a guideline in the development of novel graphene and on graphene-like 2-dimensional (2D) materials based biosensors in the future.
In this study, rapid and sensitive detection of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 was performed based on immunoreactions with an Au nanodot fabricated indium tin oxide (ITO) substrate using surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). Highly ordered Au nanodots (ca. 20 nm) were electrochemically fabricated over a large surface area (20 mm x 10 mm) of an ITO substrate using a simple deposition method with Triton X-100. On the Au nanodot surface, monoclonal antibody fragments against gp120 were selectively bound by gold-sulfur interactions. Various concentrations (35 fg/mL to 350 pg/mL) of HIV-1 virus-like particles (HIV-1 VLPs) were used for the measurements. The presence of HIV-1 VLPs was rapidly (within 5 s) and successfully determined by SERS due to specific immunoreactions on the Au nanodots without the use of labeling probes. The results showed the possibility of using SERS-related methods as a new immunoassay for the study of biomolecular interactions and detection of low viral loads. Moreover, based on its high sensitivity and chemical specificity, SERS could be used as a promising clinical tool for detecting infectious small biological components.
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