Vanadium carbide MXene: as a reductant for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles and its biosensing application

Vanadium carbide MXene (V₂C) acts as a new type of two-dimensional (2D) graphene-like transition metal material that has attracted research interest. V₂C has been widely used in various fields due to its excellent physical and chemical properties. Herein, the self-assembled V₂C@gold nanoparticles (V₂C@AuNPs) are prepared by water bath process at 80 °C. With the addition of glutathione (GSH), the absorbance (Abs.) at 550 nm of V₂C@AuNPs was decreased. Therefore, an optical sensor is developed to detect GSH based on the properties of V₂C@AuNPs. Under the optimal conditions, the detection range is 1-32 µM and the detection limit is 0.099 µM. Furthermore, the proposed GSH sensor exhibits high sensitivity, high selectivity, strong stability, and excellent recovery. The work will expand the application of V₂C in biosensing.