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This review describes principles and analytical applications of ion-exchange voltammetry (IEV) at polymer modified electrodes. Results of mechanistic studies which are relevant to the development and optimization of IEV methods are discussed. Useful examples of IEV determinations of traces of inorganic and organic electroactive ions of interest for environmental, biomedical or pharmaceutical analysis are given along with future prospects for this technique.

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This work is aimed at developing an electrochemical sensor for the sensitive and selective detection of trace levels of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in water. Contamination of waters by perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS) is a problem of global concern due to their suspected toxicity and ability to bioaccumulate. PFOS is the perfluorinated compound of major concern, as it has the lowest suggested control concentrations. The sensor reported here is based on a gold electrode modified with a thin coating of a molecularly imprinted polymer (MIP), prepared by anodic electropolymerization of o-phenylenediamine (o-PD) in the presence of PFOS as the template. Activation of the sensor is achieved by template removal with suitable a solvent mixture. Voltammetry, a quartz crystal microbalance, scanning electron microscopy and elemental analysis were used to monitor the electropolymerization process, template removal, and binding of the analyte. Ferrocenecarboxylic acid (FcCOOH) has been exploited as an electrochemical probe able to generate analytically useful voltammetric signals by competing for the binding sites with PFOS, as the latter is not electroactive. The sensor has a low detection limit (0.04 nM), a satisfactory selectivity, and is reproducible and repeatable, giving analytical results in good agreement with those obtained by HPLC-MS/MS analyses.

Ensembles of nanoscopic disk-shaped electrodes have been shown to offer enhancements in electroanalytical detection limits relative to electrodes of macroscopic dimensions (e.g., disk electrodes with diameters of ∼1 mm). Enhancements in electroanalytical detection limits have also been observed at macroscopic electrodes that have been coated with films of ion-exchange polymers. In this paper we combine these two concepts. We demonstrate that a nanoelectrode ensemble (NEE) that has been coated with a thin film of the Kodak ion-exchange polymer AQ 55 shows enhanced electroanalytical detection limits relative to the uncoated NEE and to the coated macroscopic electrode. To our knowledge, this is the first investigation of the electrochemistry, and the electroanalytical advantages, of polymer film-coated NEEs.A new approach for preparing ensembles of nanoscopic diskshaped electrodes has recently been described. 1 These nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) are prepared using a membranebased method, 2 in which the pores in a nanoporous membrane act as templates for the nanoelectrodes. The membranes employed contain monodisperse, cylindrical pores that run the complete thickness of the membrane. A nanoscopic wire of gold is deposited within each pore of the membrane. 1 The disk-shaped ends of these Au nanowires (at one face of the membrane) define the ensemble of nanodisk electrodes. Ensembles of Au nanodisks with diameters as small as 10 nm have been prepared using this template-based method. 1 The number of Au nanodisks per square centimeter of membrane surface area is determined by the density of the pores in the template membrane. Typically these membranes have high pore densities; for example, the membranes used to prepare the NEEs described in this paper had a pore density of 6 × 10 8 pores cm -2 . As a result, these NEEs operate in the "total overlap" electrochemical limiting case, 1,3 in which the diffusion layer created at each disk-shaped element overlaps with the diffusion layers created at its neighboring elements. As a consequence of this total overlap situation, conventional peak-shaped voltammograms are obtained at these NEEs.It is well known that NEEs operating in this total overlap regime can show enhanced electroanalytical detection limits relative to an electrode of conventional dimensions (e.g., a diskshaped electrode with a diameter of 1 mm; we call such electrodes "macroelectrodes"). 1,3 This enhancement in detection limit occurs because Faradaic currents are proportional to the geometric area of the NEE, while the background signal (the double-layer charging current) is proportional only to the sum of the active electrode area. We have shown that the detection limit is decreased by a factor equivalent to the fractional electrode area, which is the sum of the active electrode area divided by the geometric area of the NEE. 1,3 It occurred to us that detection limits at the NEE could be further enhanced by coating the NEE surface with a film of an ion-exchange polymer. This is because an ion-exchange...

We have undertaken a systematic investigation of the influence of ethanol on the shape of conical pores produced by the track-etch technique in poly(ethylene terephthalate) films. We have found that the cone angle of the conical nanopore generated is dependent on the amount of ethanol present in an alkaline etching solution. By varying the percentage of ethanol in the etch solution, precise control over the geometry of the conical nanopore and nanomaterials templated within these pores can be attained. We prove this by plating gold nanocones within the various conical nanopores prepared, dissolving the membrane to liberate the nanocones, and imaging the nanocones using scanning electron microscopy. The results of these investigations are reported here.

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a b s t r a c tIn this study we demonstrate the possibility to prepare highly sensitive nanostructured electrochemical immunosensors by immobilizing biorecognition elements on nanoelectrode ensembles (NEEs) prepared in track-etch polycarbonate membranes. The gold nanodisk electrodes act as electrochemical transducers while the surrounding polycarbonate binds the antibody-based biorecognition layer. The interaction between target protein and antibody is detected by suitable secondary antibodies labelled with a redox enzyme. A redox mediator, added to the sample solution, shuttles electrons from the nanoelectrodes to the biorecognition layer, so generating an electrocatalytic signal. This allows one to fully exploit the highly improved signal-to-background current ratio, typical of NEEs. In particular, the receptor protein HER2 was studied as the target analyte. HER2 detection allows the identification of breast cancer that can be treated with the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab. NEEs were functionalized with trastuzumab which interacts specifically with HER2. The biorecognition process was completed by adding a primary antibody and a secondary antibody labelled with horseradish peroxidase. Hydrogen peroxide was added to modulate the label electroactivity; methylene blue was the redox mediator generating voltammetric signals. NEEs functionalized with trastuzumab were tested to detect small amounts of HER2 in diluted cell lysates and tumour lysates.