Mussel-Inspired Electro-Cross-Linking of Enzymes for the Development of Biosensors

In medical diagnosis and environmental monitoring, enzymatic biosensors are widely applied because of their high sensitivity, potential selectivity, and their possibility of miniaturization/automation. Enzyme immobilization is a critical process in the development of this type of biosensors with the necessity to avoid the denaturation of the enzymes and ensuring their accessibility toward the analyte. Electrodeposition of macromolecules is increasingly considered to be the most suitable method for the design of biosensors. Being simple and attractive, it finely controls the immobilization of enzymes on electrode surfaces, usually by entrapment or adsorption, using an electrical stimulus. Performed manually, enzyme immobilization by cross-linking prevents enzyme leaching and was never done using an electrochemical stimulus. In this work, we present a mussel-inspired electro-cross-linking process using glucose oxidase (GOX) and a homobifunctionalized catechol ethylene oxide spacer as a cross-linker in the presence of ferrocene methanol (FC) acting as a mediator of the buildup. Performed in one pot, the process takes place in three steps: (i) electro-oxidation of FC, by the application of cyclic voltammetry, creating a gradient of ferrocenium (FC⁺); (ii) oxidation of bis-catechol into a bis-quinone molecule by reaction with the electrogenerated FC⁺; and (iii) a chemical reaction of bis-quinone with free amino moieties of GOX through Michael addition and a Schiff's base condensation reaction. Employed for the design of a second-generation glucose biosensor using ferrocene methanol (FC) as a mediator, this new enzyme immobilization process presents several advantages. The cross-linked enzymatic film (i) is obtained in a one-pot process with nonmodified GOX, (ii) is strongly linked to the metallic electrode surface thanks to catechol moieties, and (iii) presents no leakage issues. The developed GOX/bis-catechol film shows a good response to glucose with a quite wide linear range from 1.0 to 12.5 mM as well as a good sensitivity (0.66 μA/mM cm²) and a high selectivity to glucose. These films would distinguish between healthy (3.8 and 6.5 mM) and hyperglycemic subjects (>7 mM). Finally, we show that this electro-cross-linking process allows the development of miniaturized biosensors through the functionalization of a single electrode out of a microelectrode array. Elegant and versatile, this electro-cross-linking process can also be used for the development of enzymatic biofuel cells.