Electrospun CNT embedded ZnO nanofiber based biosensor for electrochemical detection of Atrazine: a step closure to single molecule detection

In this study we have reported the design and development of a facile, sensitive, selective, and label-free electrochemical sensing platform for the detection of atrazine based on MWCNT-embedded ZnO nanofibers. Electrospun nanofibers were characterized using scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscope (XPS), UV-Visible spectroscope (UV-VIS), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscope (FTIR). Electrochemical properties of MWCNT-ZnO nanofiber-modified electrodes were assessed using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). Binding event of atrazine to anti-atrazine antibody, which immobilized on nanofiber-modified electrode via EDC and NHS chemistry, was transduced with EIS. Due to high conductivity, surface area, and low bandgap of MWCNT-ZnO nanofibers, we have achieved the sensitivity and limit of detection (LoD) of sensor as 21.61 (KΩ μg −1 mL −1 ) cm −2 and 5.368 zM for a wide detection range of 10 zM–1 µM. The proposed immunosensing platform has good stability, selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility, and are less prone to interference. Biosensors: pesticide detection based on zinc oxide multi-walled carbon nanotubes An electrochemical sensing platform has been developed for detecting the pesticide atrazine based on zinc oxide (ZnO) nanofibers (nanometer-scale fibers) embedded with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Carbon nanotubes are tubes of carbon with nanometer-scale diameters and MWCNTs consist of nested single-wall carbon nanotubes. Atrazine is a widely used pesticide with a long half-life and consumption of atrazine-containing water can result in severe health problems. However, previous methods for detecting atrazine have been limited by factors related to cost, time, size, and sample preparation. A team headed by Professor Shiv Govind Singh at the Indian Institute of Technology, India, succeeded in developing an extremely sensitive biosensor for detecting trace amounts of atrazine based on MWCNT-ZnO hybrid nanofibers. The authors believe that their sensing platform offers good stability, selectivity, repeatability, and reproducibility, and is stable against interference.