Hydrogen peroxide biosensor based on hemoglobin immobilized at graphene, flower-like zinc oxide, and gold nanoparticles nanocomposite modified glassy carbon electrode

In this work, a highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) biosensor based on immobilization of hemoglobin (Hb) at Au nanoparticles (AuNPs)/flower-like zinc oxide/graphene (AuNPs/ZnO/Gr) composite modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was constructed, where ZnO and Au nanoparticles were modified through layer-by-layer onto Gr/GCE. Flower-like ZnO nanoparticles could be easily prepared by adding ethanol to the precursor solution having higher concentration of hydroxide ions. The Hb/AuNPs/ZnO/Gr composite film showed a pair of well-defined, quasi-reversible redox peaks with a formal potential (E0) of −0.367 V, characteristic features of heme redox couple of Hb. The electron transfer rate constant (ks) of immobilized Hb was 1.3 s−1. The developed biosensor showed a very fast response (<2 s) toward H2O2 with good sensitivity, wide linear range, and low detection limit of 0.8 μM. The fabricated biosensor showed interesting features, including high selectivity, acceptable stability, good reproducibility, and repeatability along with excellent conductivity, facile electron mobility of Gr, and good biocompatibility of ZnO and AuNPs. The fabrication method of this biosensor was simple and effective for determination of H2O2 in real samples with quick response, good sensitivity, high selectivity, and acceptable recovery.

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► Graphene, flower-like zinc oxide, and gold nanoparticles integrated composite electrode was prepared.
► Hemoglobin immobilized at the modified electrode for hydrogen peroxide sensing.
► Good sensitivity, wide linear range, and low detection limit were obtained.
► The developed biosensor showed a very fast response (<2 s) toward H2O2.