Electrochemical analysis of copper ion using a Gly–Gly–His tripeptide modified poly(3-thiopheneacetic acid) biosensor

A novel biosensor harnessing a conducting polymer functionalized with a copper ion specific peptide proved to be highly effective for electrochemical analysis of copper ions. The developed sensor comprised a transducer based on a conducting polymer (poly(3-thiopheneacetic acid)) electrode and a probe (tripeptide, Gly–Gly–His) selectively cognitive of copper ions. For functionalization of the electrode, the carboxylic group of the polymer was covalently coupled with the amine group of the tripeptide, and its structural features were confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy. The peptide modified polythiophene biosensor was used for the electrochemical analysis of various trace metal ions by square wave voltammetry. The electrode was found to be highly sensitive and selective to Cu2+ in the range of 0.02–20 μM with almost no cross binding to other metal ions such as Ni2+ and Pb2+. Furthermore, the developed sensor exhibited a high stability and reproducibility despite the repeated use of the sensor electrode and probe. With the advent of more diverse affinity bioprobes specific towards a broad range of analytes, the demonstrated strategy harnessing peptide modified polythiophene biosensor is likely to provide an excellent platform for the selective determination of trace amount of analytes whose detection is otherwise cumbersome.