Quantum Dot-Sensitised Estrogen Receptor-α-Based Biosensor for 17ß-Estradiol.

17ß-estradiol (E2) is an important natural female hormone that is also classified as an estrogenic endocrine-disrupting compound (e-EDC). It is, however, known to cause more damaging health effects compared to other e-EDCs. Environmental water systems are commonly contaminated with E2 that originates from domestic effluents. The determination of the level of E2 is thus very crucial in both wastewater treatment and in the aspect of environmental pollution management. In this work, an inherent and strong affinity of the estrogen receptor-α (ER-α) for E2 was used as a basis for the development of a biosensor that was highly selective towards E2 determination. A gold disk electrode (AuE) was functionalised with a 3-mercaptopropionic acid-capped tin selenide (SnSe-3MPA) quantum dot to produce a SnSe-3MPA/AuE electroactive sensor platform. The ER-α-based biosensor (ER-α/SnSe-3MPA/AuE) for E2 was produced by the amide chemistry of carboxyl functional groups of SnSe-3MPA quantum dots and the primary amines of ER-α. The ER-α/SnSe-3MPA/AuE receptor-based biosensor exhibited a formal potential (E0') value of 217 ± 12 mV, assigned as the redox potential for monitoring the E2 response using square-wave voltammetry (SWV). The response parameters of the receptor-based biosensor for E2 include a dynamic linear range (DLR) value of 1.0-8.0 nM (R2 = 0.99), a limit of detection (LOD) value of 1.69 nM (S/N = 3), and a sensitivity of 0.04 µA/nM. The biosensor exhibited high selectivity for E2 and good recoveries for E2 determination in milk samples.

Determination of anthracene on Ag-Au alloy nanoparticles/overoxidized-polypyrrole composite modified glassy carbon electrodes.

A novel electrochemical sensor for the detection of anthracene was prepared by modifying a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) with over-oxidized polypyrrole (PPyox) and Ag-Au (1:3) bimetallic nanoparticles (Ag-AuNPs). The composite electrode (PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE) was prepared by potentiodynamic polymerization of pyrrole on GCE followed by its overoxidation in 0.1 M NaOH. Ag-Au bimetallic nanoparticles were chemically prepared by the reduction of AgNO(3) and HAuCl(4) using C(6)H(5)O(7)Na(3) as the reducing agent as well as the capping agent and then immobilized on the surface of the PPyox/GCE. The nanoparticles were characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy technique which confirmed the homogeneous formation of the bimetallic alloy nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the synthesized bimetallic nanoparticles were in the range of 20-50 nm. The electrochemical behaviour of anthracene at the PPyox/Ag-AuNPs/GCE with Ag: Au atomic ratio 25:75 (1:3) exhibited a higher electrocatalytic effect compared to that observed when GCE was modified with each constituent of the composite (i.e., PPyox, Ag-AuNPs) and bare GCE. A linear relationship between anodic current and anthracene concentration was attained over the range of 3.0 × 10(-6) to 3.56 × 10(-4) M with a detection limit of 1.69 × 10(-7) M. The proposed method was simple, less time consuming and showed a high sensitivity.