Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 23, 2026
3D Printing of Biomolecular Models for Research and Pedagogy
Published on: March 13, 2017
Proteinase-sculptured 3D-printed graphene/polylactic acid electrodes as potential biosensing platforms: towards
Carmen Lorena Manzanares-Palenzuela1, Sona Hermanova2, Zdenek Sofer1
1Center for Advanced Functional Nanorobots, Department of Inorganic Chemistry, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Technická 5, 166 28, Czech Republic. pumera.research@gmail.com.
Abstract:
3D printing technologies are currently appealing for the research community due to their demonstrated versatility for different scientific applications. One of the most commonly used materials for 3D printing is polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable polymer that can be fully or partially digested by enzymes such as proteinase K. This work seeks to exploit PLA's biodegradability to selectively and reproducibly sculpt 3D-printed graphene/PLA surfaces to turn them into sensitive electroactive platforms. Proteinase K-catalyzed digestion of 3D-printed graphene/PLA electrodes is proposed as an environmentally friendly, highly controllable, and reproducible activation procedure of 3D-printed electrodes. Proteinase K digests PLA in a controllable fashion, exposing electroactive graphene sheets embedded within the 3D-printed structures to the solution and therefore achieving a tailorable electrode performance. A proof-of-concept biosensing application is proposed, based on the immobilization of enzyme alkaline phosphatase at the sculptured electrodes with the subsequent electrochemical detection of 1-naphthol in aqueous media. This work attempts to continue demonstrating the potential of 3D printing in electroanalytical applications, as well as to explore the exciting possibilities arising from merging biotechnological processes with these manufacturing procedures.
Related Concept Videos
03:02Standard Electrode Potentials
03:05Acid Strength and Molecular Structure
In the absence of any leveling effect, the acid strength of binary compounds of hydrogen with nonmetals (A) increases as the H-A bond strength decreases down a group in the periodic table. For group 17, the order of increasing acidity is HF < HCl < HBr < HI. Likewise, for group 16, the order of increasing acid strength is H2O < H2S < H2Se < H2Te. Across a row in the periodic table, the acid strength of binary hydrogen compounds increases with increasing...
02:34Molecular Structure and Acidity
The size effect explains the change in atomic size on acidity. When comparing the acids formed from elements that belong to the same column in the periodic table, their atomic sizes...
01:25Nucleic Acid Structure
DNA Structure
DNA...
01:28Structures of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives
Carboxylic acid derivatives contain an acyl group attached to a heteroatom such as chlorine, oxygen, or nitrogen. The carbonyl carbon and oxygen are both sp2-hybridized with an unhybridized p orbital.
The three sp2 orbitals of the carbonyl carbon form three σ bonds, one each with the carbonyl oxygen, the α carbon, and the heteroatom, whereas the other two sp2 orbitals of the carbonyl oxygen are occupied by the lone pairs. Further, the unhybridized p...
02:36The Citric Acid Cycle