Edge-plane microwire electrodes for highly sensitive H2O2 and glucose detection

The promise of implantable electrochemical sensors is often undermined by the critical requirement of device miniaturization that inadvertently degrades sensor performance in terms of sensitivity and selectivity. Herein, we report a novel miniaturized and flexible amperometric sensor grown at the ‘edge plane’ of a 25-μm gold wire. Such geometry affords extreme miniaturization along with ease of fabrication, minimal iR drop and 3-D diffusion for effective mass transfer. This together with electrochemical rebuilding of the Au working electrode and subsequent Pt nanoparticles deposition resulted in the highest H2O2 sensitivity (33 mA mM−1 cm−2), reported thus far. Concurrent electrodeposition of o-phenylenediamine with glucose oxidase afforded glucose detection at these edge-plane microsensors with a six fold improvement in sensitivity (1.2 mA mM−1 cm−2) over previous reports. In addition, these sensors exhibit low operation potential (0.3 V), high selectivity (more than 95%) against in vivo interferences, and an apparent Michealis–Menten constant (Kmapp) of 17 and 75 mM of glucose in the absence and presence of an outer polyurethane coating, respectively. These features render the edge-plane sensor architecture as a powerful platform for next-generation implantable biosensors.