A novel nitrite biosensor based on the direct electron transfer hemoglobin immobilized in the WO3 nanowires with high length–diameter ratio

• The WO3NWs with high length–diameter ratio have been synthesized.
• The WO3NWs were used to immobilize Hb to fabricate a mediator-free biosensor.
• The biosensor displays a wide linear range of 1–4200 μM for nitrite.
• The biosensor exhibits an extremely low detection limit of 0.28 μM for nitrite.

WO3 nanowires (WO3NWs) with high length–diameter ratio have been synthesized through a simple synthetic route without any additive and then used to immobilize hemoglobin (Hb) to fabricate a mediator-free biosensor. The morphology and structure of WO3NWs were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electronic microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Spectroscopic and electrochemical results revealed that WO3NWs are an excellent immobilization matrix with biocompatibility for redox protein, affording good protein bioactivity and stability. Meanwhile, due to unique morphology and property of the WO3 nanowires, the direct electron transfer of Hb is facilitated and the prepared biosensors displayed good performance for the detection of nitrite with a wide linear range of 1 to 4200 μM, as well as an extremely low detection limit of 0.28 μM. The WO3 nanowires with high length–diameter ratio could be a promising matrix for the fabrication of mediator-free biosensors, and may find wide potential applications in environmental analysis and biomedical detection.

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