Supramolecular assembly of glucose oxidase on concanavalin A--modified gold electrodes

There is a growing quest for the construction of functional supramolecular architectures to efficiently translate (bio)chemical events into easily measurable signals. This interest originates from its inherent scientific relevance as well as from their potential applications in the ever-flourishing areas of bioelectronics and biosensing. Herein, we describe the immobilization of glycoproteins onto electrode surfaces based on recognition-mediated supramolecular processes. Quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D), surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy, and electrochemical (EC) measurements were used to characterize the structural and functional features of these bio-supramolecular systems. Carbohydrate-lectin interactions were successfully used to build up stable assemblies of glucose oxidase (GOx) layers mediated by the recognition properties of concanavalin A supramolecular architectures. The catalytic response of GOx indicates that the whole population of enzymes incorporated in the supramolecular architecture is fully active. Even though lectin-carbohydrate interactions are rather weak, the multivalency effects prevailing in the supramolecular assembly confer remarkable stability to the interfacial architecture, thus preventing the release of the enzyme from the surface even with high glucose (ligand) concentrations. This approach represents a simple and straightforward route to locally address functional glycoproteins at interfaces. In this context, we consider that the versatility of a supramolecular assembly using biological interactions could open up new ways of envisioning or to generate new ideas for the future development of highly efficient bioelectronic platforms.