Advances in electrospun carbon fiber-based electrochemical sensing platforms for bioanalytical applications

Abstract

Electrochemical sensing is an efficient and inexpensive method for detection of a range of chemicals of biological, clinical, and environmental interest. Carbon materials-based electrodes are commonly employed for the development of electrochemical sensors because of their low cost, biocompatibility, and facile electron transfer kinetics. Electrospun carbon fibers (ECFs), prepared by electrospinning of a polymeric precursor and subsequent thermal treatment, have emerged as promising carbon systems for biosensing applications since the electrochemical properties of these carbon fibers can be easily modified by processing conditions and post-treatment. This review addresses recent progress in the use of ECFs for sensor fabrication and analyte detection. We focus on the modification strategies of ECFs and identification of the key components that impart the bioelectroanalytical activities, and point out the future challenges that must be addressed in order to advance the fundamental understanding of the ECF electrochemistry and to realize the practical applications of ECF-based sensing devices.

Ultrasonic exfoliation of carbon fiber: electroanalytical perspectives

“…These have attempted to alter the surface activation, pore size distribution and functionalisation with an extensive array of species [19,20,49]. In almost all cases, surface pre-treatment is critical and these include: chemical oxidation [50], oxygen plasma [14], gamma irradiation [14], spark discharge [51], thermal air oxidation [14,52,53], laser ablation [54] and various electrochemical techniques [55][56][57]. A brief summary of the more recent approaches are highlighted in Table 1.…”

“…electrodes, in particular, have risen to considerable prominence in recent years as they typically consist of an interpenetrating fiber matrix whose macro porosity and extensive surface area have been found to be highly advantageous in energy applications [2][3][4][5][6] and industrial water treatment [7][8][9][10]. Such electrode geometries are also finding favour within the various biosensing communities where the fiber network can serve as a host for bacterial species [4,11,12] or a framework for the immobilisation of enzymes [13,14]. Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) fibers are the most common precursor (> 90%) but there has been considerable interest in other synthetic and bio-based systems [15][16][17][18].…”

Recent Advances in Electrospun Nanofiber Interfaces for Biosensing Devices

“…The most common methods proposed to generate bioreceptor-NF hybrid assemblies consist in the attachment of the biomolecules onto the fiber surface by physical or chemical sorption, covalent binding, cross-linking or entrapment in a membrane. This approach has been extensively used to immobilize enzymes [ 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 ], antibodies [ 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 ], DNA strands [ 71 , 72 , 73 ] and aptamers [ 74 , 75 ]. Another way to proceed, more specifically developed for enzyme biosensors, consists in entrapping the bioactive molecules inside the NFs by electrospinning a blend of enzymes and polymer [ 76 , 77 , 78 , 79 , 80 , 81 , 82 , 83 , 84 , ...…”

A comparison of electrochemically pre-treated and spark-platinized carbon fiber microelectrode. Measurement of 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2′-deoxyguanosine in human urine and plasma

“…Electrochemical detection employing carbon fiber microelectrodes (CFME) is a promising research direction in the field of separation and microfluidic techniques [1][2][3][4]. Due to their suitable dimensions (5 -30 µm in diameter, few millimeters in length), CFMEs can be directly inserted into flow paths such as outlets of HPLC columns or microfluidic channels.…”