Disposable biosensor based on graphene oxide conjugated with tyrosinase assembled gold nanoparticles

A highly efficient enzyme-based screen printed electrode (SPE) was obtained by using covalent attachment between 1-pyrenebutanoic acid, succinimidyl ester (PASE) adsorbing on the graphene oxide (GO) sheets and amines of tyrosinase-protected gold nanoparticles (Tyr–Au). Herein, the bi-functional molecule PASE was assembled onto GO sheets. Subsequently, the Tyr–Au was immobilized on the PASE–GO sheets forming a biocompatible nanocomposite, which was further coated onto the working electrode surface of the SPE. The characterization of obtained nanocomposite and modified SPE surface was investigated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Attributing to the synergistic effect of GO–Au integration and the good biocompatibility of the hybrid-material, the fabricated disposable biosensor (Tyr–Au/PASE–GO/SPE) exhibited a rapid amperometric response (less than 6 s) with a high sensitivity and good storage stability for monitoring catechol. This method shows a good linearity in the range from 8.3 × 10−8 to 2.3 × 10−5 M for catechol with a squared correlation coefficient of 0.9980, a quantitation limit of 8.2 × 10−8 M (S/N = 10) and a detection limit of 2.4 × 10−8 M (S/N = 3). The Michaelis–Menten constant was measured to be 0.027 mM. This disposable tyrosinase biosensor could offer a great potential for rapid, cost-effective and on-field analysis of phenolic compounds.