Helical carbon nanotubes: intrinsic peroxidase catalytic activity and its application for biocatalysis and biosensing

A combined hydrothermal/hydrogen reduction method has been developed for the mass production of helical carbon nanotubes (HCNTs) by the pyrolysis of acetylene at 475 °C in the presence of Fe(3)O(4) nanoparticles. The synthesized HCNTs have been characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction analysis, vibrating sample magnetometry, and contact-angle measurements. The as-prepared helical-structured carbon nanotubes have a large specific surface area and high peroxidase-like activity. Catalysis was found to follow Michaelis-Menten kinetics and the HCNTs showed strong affinity for both H(2)O(2) and 3,3',5,5',-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB). Based on the high activity, the HCNTs were firstly used to develop a biocatalyst and amperometric sensor. At pH 7.0, the constructed amperometric sensor showed a linear range for the detection of H(2)O(2) from 0.5 to 115 μM with a correlation coefficient of 0.999 without the need for an electron-transfer mediator. Because of their low cost and high stability, these novel metallic HCNTs represent a promising candidate as mimetic enzymes and may find a wide range of new applications, such as in biocatalysis, immunoassay, and environmental monitoring.