A cuttlebone-derived matrix substrate for hydrogen peroxide/glucose detection

A simple biosensor for hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and glucose was fabricated by incorporating gold nanoparticles (GNPs) onto a cuttlebone-derived matrix substrate (CDMS). Such a three-dimensional chamber-like structure naturally bears abundant amino groups for the direct immobilization of GNPs without a series of modifications. And preferably, the framework endows CDMS with a very high surface area for the attachment of GNPs, resulting in effective optical signal transduction and improved sensitivity of the detection system. The principle behind this biosensor is that the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the immobilized GNPs changes with the enlargement of GNPs by H2O2-mediated chemical reduction of chloroauric acid. Using this approach, we demonstrate the proof of an optical biosensor to quantify the concentration of H2O2 as well as glucose. UV–vis absorption spectra were recorded to obtain quantitative information about the H2O2 or glucose concentration. The detection range of our biosensor to H2O2 concentration was from 2 × 10−6 to 1.5 × 10−4 M, while the linear response range of glucose concentration was from 5 × 10−6 to 5 × 10−5 M. Inspiringly and interestingly, the growth of GNPs on CDMS gives rise to color changes, this phenomenon shows that the rapid detection by our sensor has the superiority in visual detection to a certian extent, which has been a potential application in qualitative or semiquantitative analysis for medicine and biotechnology.