One Step Assembly of Thin Films of Carbon Nanotubes on Screen Printed Interface for Electrochemical Aptasensing of Breast Cancer Biomarker

• Main Authors: Muhammad Azhar Hayat Nawaz, Sajid Rauf, Gaelle Catanante, Mian Hasnain Nawaz, Gilvanda Nunes, Jean Louis Marty, Akhtar Hayat
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-10-01
• Series: Sensors
• Subjects: thin films; carbon nanotubes; high density; electrochemical aptasensor; cancer diagnosis
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/16/10/1651

Thin films of organic moiety functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs) from a very well-dispersed aqueous solution were designed on a screen printed transducer surface through a single step directed assembly methodology. Very high density of CNTs was obtained on the screen printed electrode surface, with the formation of a thin and uniform layer on transducer substrate. Functionalized CNTs were characterized by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Brunauer–Emmett– Teller (BET) surface area analyzer methodologies, while CNT coated screen printed transducer platform was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The proposed methodology makes use of a minimum amount of CNTs and toxic solvents, and is successfully demonstrated to form thin films over macroscopic areas of screen printed carbon transducer surface. The CNT coated screen printed transducer surface was integrated in the fabrication of electrochemical aptasensors for breast cancer biomarker analysis. This CNT coated platform can be applied to immobilize enzymes, antibodies and DNA in the construction of biosensor for a broad spectrum of applications.