MXenes are a new group of 2D nanomaterials with fascinating properties including high electrical conductivity, hydrophilic nature, easily tunable structure and high surface area. This is why MXene modified interfaces are extremely promising for the preparation of sensitive electrochemical biosensors. While there are numerous reports on MXene‐based enzymatic biosensors for detection of a wide range of analytes, application of MXene for construction of affinity biosensors is in its infancy. The review article summarizes current state‐of the‐art in the field with a focus on MXene modifications needed for construction of robust and high performance MXene electrochemical biosensors.
A novel electrochemical sensor was fabricated by means of solution-processed graphene oxide (GO) ink on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO), followed by rapid reduction of the GO surface to reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by cold diffuse atmospheric plasma generated in pure hydrogen gas. The FTO/rGO electrode was then employed in the detection of ascorbic acid, uric acid, dopamine, and acetaminophen molecules with low limits of detection; in these cases, 0.03, 0.06, 0.07, and 0.04 μM, respectively. While traditional methods for the reduction of GO are time-consuming, in the order of tens of minutes, and involve high-temperature (450 °C) sintering in argon, the novelty of this work lies in the rapid manufacture of the sensing material through cold plasma-assisted reduction of a GO surface. Since the temperature of the plasma procedure is below 70 °C, with the elapsed time lesser than 10 s, and the plasma unit is capable of processing an area of up to 160 cm2, FTO/rGO electrode preparation can be performed at high throughput. This fabrication method may be easily deployed in rapid and low-cost roll-to-roll manufacture, a factor essential for the future commercialization of cost-effective flexible and printed electronics based on a wide range of sensors.
Phyllobilins are natural products derived from the degradation of chlorophyll, which proceeds via a common and strictly controlled pathway in higher plants. The resulting tetrapyrrolic catabolites—the phyllobilins—are ubiquitous in nature; despite their high abundance, there is still a lack of knowledge about their physiological properties. Phyllobilins are part of human nutrition and were shown to be potent antioxidants accounting with interesting physiological properties. Three different naturally occurring types of phyllobilins—a phylloleucobilin, a dioxobilin-type phylloleucobilin and a phylloxanthobilin (PxB)—were compared regarding potential antioxidative properties in a cell-free and in a cell-based antioxidant activity test system, demonstrating the strongest effect for the PxB. Moreover, the PxB was investigated for its capacity to interfere with immunoregulatory metabolic pathways of tryptophan breakdown in human blood peripheral mononuclear cells. A dose-dependent inhibition of tryptophan catabolism to kynurenine was observed, suggesting a suppressive effect on pathways of cellular immune activation. Although the exact mechanisms of immunomodulatory effects are yet unknown, these prominent bioactivities point towards health-relevant effects, which warrant further mechanistic investigations and the assessment of the in vivo extrapolatability of results. Thus, phyllobilins are a still surprisingly unexplored family of natural products that merit further investigation.
2D MXenes as Perspective Immobilization Platforms for Design of Electrochemical Nanobiosensors. More details can be found in the Full Paper by Lenca Lorencova et al. (DOI: 10.1002/elan.201900288).
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