An amphiprotic paper-based electrode for glucose detection based on layered carbon nanotubes with silver and polystyrene particles

Abstract

In this work, a flexible amphiprotic amino-bonded carbon nanotube-Ag nanoparticle/polystyrene (CNT-NH₂–Ag/PS) paper electrode was fabricated to measure glucose in human body fluids by a combination of vacuum filtration and high temperature baking. The front side of the fabricated paper electrode was hydrophobic and conductive, whereas its back side was hydrophilic and nonconductive. In the fabrication process, the coating sequence of CNT-NH₂, Ag and PS was critical to determine the performance of the resulting CNT-NH₂–Ag/PS electrode besides other parameters (e.g., amount of soluble starch, PS and Ag nanoparticles, type and amount of CNT-NH₂, and electrode sensing area). Based on a series of experimental observations, the possible mechanism of glucose detection on the paper electrode was proposed, in which glucose was more favorable to migrate to the hydrophilic back side of the paper and interact with the active species (e.g., O₂⁻) on the electrode surface. The electrochemical results showed that the CNT-NH₂–Ag/PS paper electrode maintained stable electrochemical properties even after five cycles of use and 60 days of storage in air. The amphiprotic paper electrode demonstrated excellent sensing performance for glucose with a linear range of 1 μM to 1000 μM, a low detection limit of 0.2 μM, and a sensitivity of 31 333.0 μA mM⁻¹ cm⁻². The fabricated paper electrode was also successfully applied to detect different levels of glucose in complex human body fluids such as saliva, urine, and serum. These features make this type of paper electrode promising for glucose measurement.