posted on 2024-01-17, 17:05authored byAlanis C. Zambrano, Livia M. D. Loiola, Abdullah Bukhamsin, Radoslaw Gorecki, George Harrison, Veerappan Mani, Shadi Fatayer, Suzana P. Nunes, Khaled N. Salama
Laser-scribed graphene
electrodes (LSGEs) are promising platforms
for the development of electrochemical biosensors for point-of-care
settings and continuous monitoring and wearable applications. However,
the frequent occurrence of biofouling drastically reduces the sensitivity
and selectivity of these devices, hampering their sensing performance.
Herein, we describe a versatile, low-impedance, and robust antibiofouling
interface based on sulfobetaine-zwitterionic moieties. The interface
induces the formation of a hydration layer and exerts electrostatic
repulsion, protecting the electrode surface from the nonspecific adsorption
of various biofouling agents. We demonstrate through electrochemical
and microscopy techniques that the modified electrode exhibits outstanding
antifouling properties, preserving more than 90% of the original signal
after 24 h of exposure to bovine serum albumin protein, HeLa cells,
and Escherichia coli bacteria. The
promising performance of this antifouling strategy suggests that it
is a viable option for prolonging the lifetime of LSGEs-based sensors
when operating on complex biological systems.