Enzyme-Free Monitoring of Glucose Using Molecularly Imprinted Polymers and Gold Nanoparticles

Area of Science:

• Electrochemistry
• Biosensors
• Materials Science

Background:

• Accurate glucose monitoring is crucial for diabetes management.
• Existing glucose biosensors often rely on enzymes, which can be unstable.
• Development of non-enzymatic glucose biosensors offers an alternative with enhanced stability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a novel non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose biosensor.
• To combine molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) for glucose recognition and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) for enhanced electrocatalysis.
• To investigate the sensor's performance for glucose detection in serum.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of screen-printed carbon electrodes (SPEs) modified with MIPs and AuNPs in situ.
• Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) for analytical performance evaluation.
• Chronoamperometry for direct glucose measurement and selectivity testing against ascorbic acid.

Main Results:

• The sensor exhibited a linear range of 1.0 µM to 1.0 mM for glucose detection in buffer.
• Demonstrated selective discrimination of glucose over ascorbic acid.
• AuNPs facilitated glucose oxidation at lower potentials, enhancing selectivity and lowering detection limits.

Conclusions:

• The developed MIPs/AuNPs/SPEs biosensor is a promising tool for non-enzymatic glucose monitoring in serum.
• The combination of MIPs and AuNPs offers improved sensitivity, selectivity, and lower detection limits.
• This approach can be extended for the electrochemical detection of other biomolecules.