Surface Modification of Thermoplastic Electrodes for Biosensing Applications via Copper-Catalyzed Click Chemistry

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Materials Science
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC), or click chemistry, offers robust and versatile surface modification.
• Thermoplastic electrodes (TPEs) present a cost-effective and robust alternative to traditional carbon electrodes.
• Current biosensing applications of TPEs are limited by facile electrode modification methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a customizable and versatile biosensing platform using thermoplastic electrodes.
• To demonstrate the feasibility of combining diazonium grafting with click chemistry on TPEs.
• To enable facile electrode modification for enhanced biosensor fabrication.

Main Methods:

• Diazonium grafting of thermoplastic electrodes (TPEs).
• Application of Cu(I)-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (CuAAC) for surface functionalization.
• Stepwise characterization of electrode modification procedures.
• Immobilization of model affinity reagents (streptavidin, streptavidin-conjugated IgG antibodies).
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for surface analysis.

Main Results:

• Successful grafting of TPEs via diazonium chemistry.
• Effective surface functionalization using CuAAC click chemistry.
• Demonstrated immobilization of streptavidin and IgG antibodies on TPE surfaces.
• Confirmation of successful modification using EIS and XPS.

Conclusions:

• The combination of diazonium grafting and CuAAC click chemistry provides a facile and versatile method for modifying TPEs.
• This approach enables the development of customizable biosensing platforms on TPEs.
• The findings pave the way for advanced biosensor fabrication using cost-effective thermoplastic materials.