A self-powered photoelectrochemical cathodic molecular imprinting sensor based on Au@TiO2 nanorods photoanode and Cu2O photocathode for sensitive detection of sarcosine

Quantitative determination of sarcosine (SAR) in biological liquids is of great importance, as SAR has been recently suggested as a promising biomarker for prostate cancer diagnostics. Herein, a self-powered photo electrochemical (PEC) molecular imprinted sensor integrated with photoanode (Au@TiO2 nanorods) and photocathode (Cu2O) is proposed for the first time towards the specific and sensitive detection of SAR. With the benefits of strong photocurrent driving force attributed to a large inherent deviation between the Fermi levels of photoanode and photocathode in this system, the photogenerated electrons of Au@TiO2 can rapidly transferred along the outer circuit and attracted by the holes in the valence band of the photocathode, forming a self powered PEC system and improve the photocurrent of the cathode. Under the optimal conditions, the constructed cathode imprinted sensor has a linear range of 10 nM 10 mu M, and the limitation of detection is 0.19 nM. This work proved that the PEC sensing platform has great potential in the field of miniaturized biosensing without external power supply.

Automated summary

In this study, a self-powered photoelectrochemical molecular imprinted sensor was proposed for the detection of sarcosine in biological liquids. The sensor showed specific and sensitive detection of sarcosine, without the need for an external power supply.