Graphene/Fe3 O4 Nanocomposites as Efficient Anodes to Boost the Lifetime and Current Output of Microbial Fuel Cells.

The enhancement of microbial activity and electrocatalysis through the design of new anode materials is essential to develop microbial fuel cells (MFCs) with longer lifetimes and higher output. In this research, a novel anode material, graphene/Fe3 O4 (G/Fe3 O4 ) composite, has been designed for Shewanella-inoculated MFCs. Because the Shewanella species could bind to Fe3 O4 with high affinity and their growth could be supported by Fe3 O4 , the bacterial cells attached quickly onto the anode surface and their long-term activity improved. As a result, MFCs with reduced startup time and improved stability were obtained. Additionally, the introduction of graphene not only provided a large surface area for bacterial attachment, but also offered high electrical conductivity to facilitate extracellular electron transfer (EET). The results showed that the current and power densities of a G/Fe3 O4 anode were much higher than those of each individual component as an anode.

Sensitive electrochemical detection of telomerase activity using spherical nucleic acids gold nanoparticles triggered mimic-hybridization chain reaction enzyme-free dual signal amplification.

We report an electrochemical sensor for telomerase activity detection based on spherical nucleic acids gold nanoparticles (SNAs AuNPs) triggered mimic-hybridization chain reaction (mimic-HCR) enzyme-free dual signal amplification. In the detection strategy, SNAs AuNPs and two hairpin probes were employed. SNAs AuNPs as the primary amplification element, not only hybridized with the telomeric repeats on the electrode to amplify signal but also initiated the subsequent secondary amplification, mimic-hybridization chain reaction of two hairpin probes. If the cells' extracts were positive for telomerase activity, SNAs AuNPs could be captured on the electrode. The carried initiators could trigger an alternative hybridization reaction of two hairpin probes that yielded nicked double helices. The signal was further amplified enzyme-free by numerous hexaammineruthenium(III) chloride ([Ru(NH3)6](3+), RuHex) inserting into double-helix DNA long chain by electrostatic interaction, each of which could generate an electrochemical signal at appropriate potential. With this method, a detection limit of down to 2 HeLa cells and a dynamic range of 10-10,000 cells were achieved. Telomerase activities of different cell lines were also successfully evaluated.

NADH dehydrogenase-like behavior of nitrogen-doped graphene and its application in NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase biosensing.

A novel electrochemical biosensing platform for nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD(+))-dependent dehydrogenase catalysis was designed using the nitrogen-doped graphene (NG), which had properties similar to NADH dehydrogenase (CoI). NG mimicked flavin mononucleotide (FMN) in CoI and efficiently catalyzed NADH oxidation. NG also acted as an electron transport "bridge" from NADH to the electrode due to its excellent conductivity. In comparison with a bare gold electrode, an 800 mV decrease in the overpotential for NADH oxidation and CoI-like behavior were observed at NG-modified electrode, which is the largest decrease in overpotential for NADH oxidation reported to date. The catalytic rate constant (k) for the CoI-like behavior of NG was estimated to be 2.3×10(5) M(-1) s(-1), which is much higher than that of other previously reported FMN analogs. The Michaelis-Menten constant (Km) of NG was 26 µM, which is comparable to the Km of CoI (10 µM). Electrodes modified with NG and NG/gold nanoparticals/formate dehydrogenase (NG/AuNPs/FDH) showed excellent analytical performance for the detection of NADH and formate. This electrode fabrication strategy could be used to create a universal biosensing platform for developing NAD(+)-dependent dehydrogenase biosensors and biofuel cells.

Simultaneous determination of phthalates and adipates in human serum using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with solid-phase extraction.

A gas chromatography-mass spectrometry assay was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of phthalates and adipates in human serum. The phthalates and adipates studied were dimethyl phthalate, diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, benzylbutyl phthalate, di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate, di-n-octyl phthalate, diethyl adipate, dibutyl adipate, diisobutyl adipate, bis(2-butoxyethyl) adipate and di-2-ethylhexyl adipate, with diisooctyl phthalate as internal standard. The extraction and cleaning up procedure was carried out with solid-phase extraction cartridges containing dimethyl butylamine groups, which showed extraction efficiencies over 88% for each analyte and the internal standard. The calibration curves obtained were linear with correlation coefficients greater than 0.98. For all analytes, the assay gave CV% values for intra-day precision from 4.9 to 13.3% and mean accuracy values from 91.4 to 108.4%, while inter-day precision was 5.2-13.4% and mean accuracy 91.0-110.2%. The limits of detection for the assay of phthalates and adipates were in the range 0.7-4.5 ng/mL. The method is simple, sensitive and accurate, and allows for simultaneous determination of nanogram levels of phthalates and adipates in human serum. It was successfully applied to an investigation on the level of phthalates and adipates in a non-occupationally exposed population.