A single-step laser scribing process is used to pattern nanostructured electrodes on paper-based devices. The facile and low-cost technique eliminates the need for chemical reagents or controlled conditions. This process involves the use of a CO laser to pyrolyze the surface of the paperboard, producing a conductive porous non-graphitizing carbon material composed of graphene sheets and composites with aluminosilicate nanoparticles. The new electrode material was extensively characterized, and it exhibits high conductivity and an enhanced active/geometric area ratio; it is thus well-suited for electrochemical purposes. As a proof-of-concept, the devices were successfully employed for different analytical applications in the clinical, pharmaceutical, food, and forensic fields. The scalable and green fabrication method associated with the features of the new material is highly promising for the development of portable electrochemical devices.

Asingle-step laser scribing process is used to pattern nanostructured electrodes on paper-based devices.T he facile and low-cost technique eliminates the need for chemical reagents or controlled conditions.T his process involves the use of aC O 2 laser to pyrolyze the surface of the paperboard, producing ac onductive porous non-graphitizing carbon material composed of graphene sheets and composites with aluminosilicate nanoparticles.The new electrode material was extensively characterized,and it exhibits high conductivity and an enhanced active/geometric area ratio;i ti st hus well-suited for electrochemical purposes.A saproof-of-concept, the devices were successfully employed for different analytical applications in the clinical, pharmaceutical, food, and forensic fields.T he scalable and green fabrication method associated with the features of the new material is highly promising for the development of portable electrochemical devices.

Drug trafficking is a major worldwide problem. In this context, cocaine is one of the most commonly used drugs of abuse. In addition, street cocaine is commonly seized adulterated with pharmaceutical compounds, and the composition of the mixture provides a chemical fingerprint that can assist the police in tracking the distribution route of the drug; hence, the development of facile, cost-effective methods for determining the composition of street cocaine is an important objective. Herein we report a simple strategy for the fabrication of paper-based analytical devices (PADs) for the dual electrochemical and surface-enhanced Raman-scattering (SERS) determination of cocaine samples. Accordingly, a 2-μm-thick Au film was prepared by depositing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) on office paper with wax-barrier templates to create nanostructured gold tracks that are mainly formed by Au(111) fcc planes as electrodes and SERS transducers. These devices were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffractometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. The optimized device is simple and inexpensive to prepare and exhibited a Raman-scattering enhancement factor of 3 × 106, a 15-fold superior electroactive area, and a 2.6-fold decrease in charge-transfer resistance when compared with a conventional Au electrode. In addition, these PADs were successfully used in a forensics scenario to screen and analyze a seized street cocaine sample, determine its chemical profile, and to identify simultaneously caffeine, paracetamol, and levamisole adulterants.

Gold is among the most used materials in electrocatalysis. Despite this, this noble metal is still too expensive to be used in the fabrication of low cost and disposable devices. In the present work, gold-leaf sheets, usually employed in decorative crafts and wedding candies, is introduced as an inexpensive source of gold. Planar-disc and nanoband gold electrodes were simply and easily manufactured by combining gold leaf and polyimide tape. The planar disc electrode exhibited electrochemical behavior similar to that of a commercial gold electrode in 0.2molL HSO; cyclic voltammetry of a 1mmolL solution of potassium ferricyanide (K[Fe(CN)]) in 0.2molL KNO, using this novel electrode, displayed an 80mV difference between the oxidation and reduction peak potentials. The electrode also delivers promising prospects for the development of wearable devices. When submitted to severe mechanical deformation, this electrode exhibited neither loss of electrical contact nor significant variation in electrode response, even after fifteen bending and/or folding cycles. The thickness of the gold-leaf sheet facilitates the production of nanoband electrodes with behavior similar to that of ultramicroelectrodes. The electrode surface is easily renewed by cutting a thin slice off its end with a razor blade; this process led to limiting currents that were reproducible, presenting a relative standard deviation (RSD) of 3.8% (n = 5).

This study demonstrates a fast and simple method to fabricate enhanced ePADs using pencil-drawing with a CO2 laser treatment of the carbon surface deposited on paper. The sensor was applied to the detection of furosemide in a synthetic urine sample.

Cocaine (COC) is one of the most widely consumed illegal drugs around the world. Street COC is commonly adulterated with pharmaceutical compounds that mimic or intensify the COC's sensory effect. Adulteration is performed to increase the profit of criminal organizations and each one has their own way of doing it. Therefore, determining the composition of seized COC samples (chemical profile) provides evidence for the police to track criminal organization networks and their activity patterns. Using filter paper as a substrate, we developed a multiple detection paper-based analytical device (PAD) that combines colorimetric and electrochemical measurements to discriminate COC samples according to adulterant's content. A regular graphite lead modified with a gold film made from Au leaf (graphite/Au) to improve electron transfer was used as a working electrode. Silver and Ag/AgCl were used as auxiliary and reference electrodes, respectively. The colorimetric device was patterned using a laser cutter and coupled to the electrochemical device using a double-sided tape, allowing simultaneous analysis to gather more analytical information about COC samples. Graphite/Au was characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopies and electrochemical assays. The simultaneous colorimetric and electrochemical analyses combined to principal component analysis improved the analytical characterization of COC trial samples and provided a fast discrimination based on the assembled database.

A novel and quick (sub-minute) method for synthesizing gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) over electrochemical paper-based devices (ePAD) using a CO2 laser is presented. The ePAD, fabricated by laser-scribing carbonization of kraft...

Diphtheria is a vaccine-preventable disease, yet immunization can wane over time to non-protective levels. We have developed a low-cost, miniaturized electroanalytical biosensor to quantify anti-diphtheria toxin (DTx) immunoglobulin G (anti-DTx IgG) antibody to minimize the risk for localized outbreaks. Two epitopes specific to DTx and recognized by antibodies generated post-vaccination were selected to create a bi-epitope peptide, biEP, by synthesizing the epitopes in tandem. The biEP peptide was conjugated to the surface of a pencil-lead electrode (PLE) integrated into a portable electrode holder. Captured anti-DTx IgG was measured by square wave voltammetry from the generation of hydroquinone (HQ) from the resulting immunocomplex. The performance of the biEP reagent presented high selectivity and specificity for DTx. Under the optimized working conditions, a logarithmic calibration curve showed good linearity over the concentration range of 10−5–10−1 IU mL−1 and achieved a limit of detection of 5 × 10−6 IU mL−1. The final device proved suitable for interrogating the immunity level against DTx in actual serum samples. Results showed good agreement with those obtained from a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the flexibility for conjugating other capture molecules to PLEs suggests that this technology could be easily adapted to the diagnoses of other pathogens.