Surface Modification of Liquid Metal with p-Aniline Derivatives toward Bioapplications: Biosensing as an Example

It is a long-lasting research topic to avoid the formation of oxidation layers on gallium-based liquid metals. This study has developed a simple general method for modification of the eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) surface with p-aniline derivatives to introduce a monolayer of organic molecules with versatile functional groups. The binding affinity of carboxylic acid groups, amine groups, or thiol groups with EGaIn is in the order SH > NH₂ > COOH. For the first time, it is evidenced that both NH₂ and SH groups can coexist on the EGaIn nanoparticle surface with the binding affinities of 30 and 70%, respectively. The formation of these organic molecules on the EGaIn surface antioxidizes and thus stabilizes the EGaIn nanoparticles, while increasing the conductivity of EGaIn significantly. The resulting EGaIn nanoparticles have very good distribution in both ethanol and aqueous solutions and rich surface chemistry, making them suitable for the following attachment of biomolecules such as aptamers, antibodies, or enzymes for biomedical applications. As an example, the EGaIn surface is successfully modified with p-aminobenzoic acid followed by the attachment of an insulin aptamer, which can be used for the electrochemical detection of insulin with the lowest detectable concentration limit of 1 pM. This study reveals the modification of EGaIn nanoparticles with p-aniline derivatives with versatile functional groups to antioxidize EGaIn in a biological environment, opening a door for gallium-based liquid metals toward biomedical applications.