Photo-induced metal-oxide biosensor for analysis of biofluids

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Biosensor Technology
• Analytical Chemistry

Background:

• Electrochemical biosensors for biomarker detection often require complex materials and operate at high potentials, leading to inaccuracies.
• These limitations hinder the practical application of current biosensor technologies for real-world health monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel photo-induced chemiresistive biosensor to overcome the drawbacks of traditional electrochemical biosensors.
• To demonstrate the sensor's capability in monitoring key biomarkers, such as lactate and glucose, in sweat.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a UV-induced zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod (NR) chemiresistive biosensor.
• Evaluation of the sensor's performance for lactate and glucose detection, including optimization of operating parameters like irradiance, wavelength, and applied potential.
• Investigation of the lactate detection mechanism involving ZnO NRs.

Main Results:

• The developed ZnO NR biosensor demonstrated effective detection of lactate and glucose.
• Optimal detection performance was achieved at 5.6 mW/cm² irradiance with 365 nm wavelength and 0.1 V applied potential.
• The sensor exhibited excellent analytical performance, including high response, rapid response time, and complete recovery.

Conclusions:

• The novel photo-induced chemiresistive biosensor platform offers a promising alternative to conventional electrochemical sensors.
• Its simple sensing layer and excellent analytical performance make it suitable for detecting various biomarkers.
• This technology paves the way for practical, real-life applications of photo-induced chemiresistive biosensors.