Gold nanoparticle and conducting polymer-polyaniline-based nanocomposites for glucose biosensor design

Two new nanocomposite structures (i) glucose oxidase (GOx) entrapped within polyaniline (PANI) layer (GOx/PANI) and (ii) GOx, gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) entrapped within PANI layer (GOx/Au-NPs/PANI) were developed. These structures were deposited on the surface of carbon rod electrodes and evaluated amperometrically. It was found that in all cases Au-NPs facilitated electron transfer (ET) and they showed a positive effect on the amperometric signals of all evaluated types of electrodes. The sensitivity, apparent Michaelis constants and some other characteristics of developed biosensors were determined and evaluated. Results illustrate that GOx/PANI and GOx/Au-NPs/PANI nanocomposites retain catalytic activity of glucose oxidase and seem to be suitable for the design of amperometric biosensors. In addition we predict possible application of such nanocomposites for some other nanotechnological purposes including biomedical ones. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.