An Amperometric Acetylcholine Biosensor Based on Co-Immobilization of Enzyme Nanoparticles onto Nanocomposite

Abstract

An electrochemical biosensor was fabricated using nanoparticles of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and choline oxidase (ChO)/Pt nanoparticles (PtNPs)/porous graphene oxide nanosheet (GONS) composite. A pencil graphite electrode (PGE) was used for the electrodeposition of nanocomposite and the determination of acetylcholine (ACh), a neurotransmitter. Various techniques such as scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectra and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used for characterization. This biosensor (AChENPs-ChONPs/GONS/PtNPs/PGE) indicated a very short response time (3 s), a lower limit of detection (0.001 µM), good linearity (0.001–200 µM), longer storage stability (6 months) and better reproducibility. The percent analytical recoveries of added acetylcholine in serum (5.0 and 10 µM) were found to be 97.6 ± 0.7 and 96.5 ± 0.3 for the present biosensor. The coefficients of variation were obtained to be 8% and 3.25%, correspondingly. The biosensor was applied to measure the ACh amount in the serum of healthy individuals and patients with Alzheimer’s disease. The number of interferents had no effect on the biosensor at their physiological concentrations.

Keywords

• acetylcholinesterase nanoparticles
• choline oxidase nanoparticles
• biosensor
• serum
• Alzheimer’s