Facile synthesis of tetragonal columnar-shaped TiO2 nanorods for the construction of sensitive electrochemical glucose biosensor

A tetragonal columnar-shaped TiO2 (TCS-TiO2) nanorods are synthesized via a facile route for the immobilization of glucose oxidase (GOx). A novel electrochemical glucose biosensor is constructed based on the direct electrochemistry of GOx at TCS-TiO2 modified glassy carbon electrode. The fabricated biosensor is characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, electrochemical impedance spectra and cyclic voltammetry. The immobilized enzyme molecules on TCS-TiO2 nanorods retain its native structure and bioactivity and show a surface controlled, quasi-reversible and fast electron transfer process. The TCS-TiO2 nanorods have large surface area and provide a favorable microenvironment for enhancing the electron transfer between enzyme and electrode surface. The constructed glucose biosensor shows wide linear range from 5.0×10−6 to 1.32×10−3 M with a high sensitivity of 23.2 mA M−1 cm−2. The detection limit is calculated to be 2.0×10−6 M at signal-to-noise of 3. The proposed glucose biosensor also exhibits excellent selectivity, good reproducibility, and acceptable operational stability. Furthermore, the biosensor can be successfully applied in the detection of glucose in serum sample at the applied potential of −0.50 V. The TCS-TiO2 nanorods provide an efficient and promising platform for the immobilization of proteins and development of excellent biosensors.