Surface-engineered vertically-aligned ZnO nanorod for sensitive non-enzymatic electrochemical monitoring of cholesterol
Rafiq Ahmad,
Kiesar Sideeq Bhat,
Vandana Nagal,
Umesh T. Nakate,
Akil Ahmad,
Mohammed B. Alshammari,
Shamshad Alam,
Byeong-Il Lee
Affiliations
Rafiq Ahmad
‘New-Senior’ Oriented Smart Health Care Education Center, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea
Kiesar Sideeq Bhat
Department of Bioresources, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, 190006, India; Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), Critical Analytics for Manufacturing Personalized-Medicine (CAMP), Create Way, 138602, Singapore; Corresponding author. Department of Bioresources, University of Kashmir, Hazratbal, Srinagar, 190006, India.
Vandana Nagal
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, 110016, India
Umesh T. Nakate
Department of Polymer-Nano Science and Technology, Jeonbuk National University, 567 Baekje-daero, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju-si, Jeollabuk-do, Republic of Korea
Akil Ahmad
Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Humanities in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia
Mohammed B. Alshammari
Department of Chemistry, College of Science and Humanities in Al-Kharj, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Al-Kharj, 11942, Saudi Arabia
Shamshad Alam
Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York, 14263, United States
Byeong-Il Lee
Industry 4.0 Convergence Bionics Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea; Digital Healthcare Research Center, Institute of Information Technology and Convergence, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea; Division of Smart Healthcare, College of Information Technology and Convergence, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea; Corresponding author. Division of Smart Healthcare, College of Information Technology and Convergence, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48513, Republic of Korea
Developing highly sensitive and selective non-enzymatic electrochemical biosensors for disease biomarker detection has become challenging in healthcare applications. However, advances in material science are opening new avenues for creating more dependable biosensing technologies. In this context, the present work introduces a novel approach by engineering a hybrid structure of zinc oxide nanorod (ZnO NR) modified with iron oxide nanoparticle (Fe2O3 NP) on an FTO electrode. This Fe2O3 NP-ZnO NR hybrid material functions as a nanozyme, facilitating the catalysis of cholesterol and enabling the direct transfer of electrons to the fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) electrode, limiting the need for costly and traditional enzymes in the detection process. This innovative non-enzymatic cholesterol biosensor showcases remarkable sensitivity, registering at 642.8 μA/mMcm2 within a linear response range of up to 9.0 mM. It also exhibits a low detection limit (LOD) of ∼12.4 μM, ensuring its capability to detect minimal concentrations of cholesterol accurately. Moreover, the developed biosensor displays exceptional selectivity by effectively distinguishing cholesterol molecules from other interfering biological species, while exhibiting outstanding stability and reproducibility. Our findings indicate that the Fe2O3 NP-ZnO NR hybrid nanostructure on the FTO electrode holds promise for enhancing biosensor stability. Furthermore, the present device fabrication platform offers versatility, as it can be adapted with various enzymes or modified with different metal oxides, potentially broadening its applicability in a wide range of biomarkers detection.
