We present a brief overview of bioelectrocatalytic devices for in vitro health applications, including food safety and environmental analysis, focusing on microelectrode- and microfluidic-based biosensors, paper-based point-of-care devices and wearable biosensors. The main hurdles and future perspectives are discussed. We then consider the role of electron transfer between a biocatalyst and an electrode in biosensor design. Brief descriptions of indirect, direct and mediated mechanisms are given. The principal strategies, as well as recent developments for modulation of electron transfer in biocatalytic systems are summarised. In conclusion, we highlight some of the challenges associated with improving these redox systems.

Single molecule enzymology provides an opportunity to examine details of enzyme mechanisms that are not distinguishable in biomolecule ensemble studies. Here we report, for the first time, detection of the current produced in an electrocatalytic reaction by a single redox enzyme molecule when it collides with an ultramicroelectrode. The catalytic process provides amplification of the current from electron-transfer events at the catalyst leading to a measurable current. This new methodology monitors turnover of a single enzyme molecule. The methodology might complement existing single molecule techniques, giving further insights into enzymatic mechanisms and filling the gap between fundamental understanding of biocatalytic processes and their potential for bioenergy production.

The monitoring of phenolic compounds in wastewaters in a simple manner is of great importance for environmental control. Here, a novel screen printed laccase-based microband array for in situ, total phenol estimation in wastewaters and for water quality monitoring without additional sample pre-treatment is presented. Numerical simulations using the finite element method were utilized for the characterization of micro-scale graphite electrodes. Anodization followed by covalent modification was used for the electrode functionalization with laccase. The functionalization efficiency and the electrochemical performance in direct and catechol-mediated oxygen reduction were studied at the microband laccase electrodes and compared with macro-scale electrode structures. The reduction of the dimensions of the enzyme biosensor, when used under optimized conditions, led to a significant improvement in its analytical characteristics. The elaborated microsensor showed fast responses towards catechol additions to tap water – a weakly supported medium – characterized by a linear range from 0.2 to 10 μM, a sensitivity of 1.35 ± 0.4 A M⁻¹ cm⁻² and a dynamic range up to 43 μM. This enhanced laccase-based microsensor was used for water quality monitoring and its performance for total phenol analysis of wastewater samples from different stages of the cleaning process was compared to a standard method.

Hierarchically structured materials (HSMs) are becoming increasingly important in catalysis, separation and energy applications due to their advantageous diffusion and flux properties. Here, we introduce a facile modular approach to fabricate HSMs with tailored functional conducting polypyrrole microparticles (PPyMP). The PPyMPs were fabricated with a calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) template-assisted polymerization technique in aqueous media at room temperature, thus providing a new green chemistry for producing water-processable functional polymers. The sacrificial CaCO₃ template guided the polymerization process to yield homogenous PPyMPs with a narrow size distribution. The porous nature of the CaCO₃ further allows the incorporation of various organic and inorganic dopants such as an electrocatalyst and redox mediator for the fabrication of functional PPyMPs. Dawson-type polyoxometalate (POM) and methylene blue (MB) were chosen as the model electrocatalyst and electron mediator dopant, respectively. Hierarchically structured electrochemical interfaces were created simply by self-assembly of the functional PPyMPs. We demonstrate the versatility of this technique by creating two different hierarchical structured electrochemical interfaces: POM-PPyMPs for hydrogen peroxide electrocatalysis and MB-PPyMPs for mediated bioelectrocatalysis. We envision that the presented design concept could be extended to different conducting polymers doped with other functional organic and inorganic dopants to develop advanced electrochemical interfaces and to create high surface area electrodes for energy storage.

A self-polishing voltammetric sensor was recently developed and has been applied to samples of urea, milk and sewage water. The polishing device continuously grinds a platinum ring electrode, offering a reproducible and clean electrode surface. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least squares (PLS) techniques were applied to interpret the data and to build prediction models. In an evaluation of samples with different urea concentrations, the grinding step allows for repeatable measurements, similar to those after electrochemical cleaning. Furthermore, for the determination of sewage water concentrations in drinking water and for the evaluation of different fat contents in milk samples, the polishing eliminates sensor drift produced by electrode fouling. The results show that the application of a self-polishing unit offers a promising tool for electrochemical studies of difficult analytes and complex media. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Graphene as a nanomaterial consisting of a single layer sheets of atoms of carbon in hexagonal arrangement is making a significant impact in variety of technologies such as energy storage and chemical analysis. The significant attention paid to this thinnest nanomaterial resulted in thousands of patent applications is due to its staggering properties. Due to the planar conjugation of the sp²bonds in graphene, two-dimensional electrical conduction is highly efficient. On the contrary, the efficiency of electron exchange at the out-of-plane of the graphene sheet is small. The significant difference of the densities of electronic states at in-plane and out-of-plane of graphene sheet determines two distinct structural contributions (basal and edge plane respectively) to the behavior of all graphitic materials yielding the chemical and electrochemical anisotropy. Being the simplest building block of graphitic materials, graphene offers the possibility to study the behavior on the simplest level of structural organization. However, the major effort of the recent electrochemical studies of graphene were done using a bulk materials based on graphene flakes possessing the domination of edges of high reactivity. The planar orientation of graphene sheets with controllable exposure of basal plane is achievable via the growth by chemical vapor deposition or by epitaxial flash annealing on crystalline structures of silicon carbide. The slow growth of graphene onto crystalline support during annealing in the inert atmosphere results in a development of a high quality graphene monolayer attached to the solid insulating support. The creation of sp³-type reactive defects on the basal plane of graphite can be achieved by anodization at high anodic potentials.

We developed the procedure for the real-time monitoring of epitaxial graphene anodization. The changes of electrochemical properties of graphene monolayer with anodization have been comparatively investigated by electrochemical methods. The estimation of specific capacitance in pure electrolyte and in conditions of Faradaic process has been carried out. Finally, the direct electrocatalysis of laccase (Trametes versicolor) has been used as an electrode reaction to probe the reactivities of anodized epitaxial graphene and conventional carbon materials.

The monitoring of phenolic compounds in raw waters and wastewaters is of great importance for environmental control. Use of biosensors for rapid, specific and simple detection of phenolic compounds is a promising approach. A number of biosensors have been developed for phenol detection. A general drawback of previously reported biosensors is their insufficient detection limits for phenols in water samples. One way to improve the detection limit is by the use of microelectrodes.

Microband design of the microelectrodes combines convergent mass transport due to the microscale width and high output currents due to the macroscopic length. Among the various techniques available for microband electrode fabrication, we have chosen screen-printing which is a cost-effective production method.

In this study, we report on the development of a laccase-based microscale biosensor operating under a convergent diffusion regime. Screen-printing followed by simple cutting was utilized for the fabrication of graphite microbands as a platform for further covalent immobilization of laccase. Numerical simulations, utilizing the finite element method with periodic boundary conditions, were used for modeling the voltammetric response of the developed microband electrodes. Anodization followed by covalent immobilization was used for the electrode modification with laccase. Direct and mediated laccase bioelectrocatalytic oxidation of phenols was studied on macro- and microscale graphite electrodes. Significant enhancement of the analytical performance was achieved by the establishment of convergent diffusion in the microscale sensor. Finally, the developed microsensor was utilized to monitor phenolic compounds in real waste water.

Blood cholesterol is a very important parameter for the assessment of atherosclerosis and other lipid disorders. The total cholesterol concentration in human blood should be less than 5.17 mM. Concentrations in the range 5.17 – 6.18 mM are considered borderline high risk and levels above 6.21 mM, high risk. Cholesterol determination with high accuracy is therefore necessary in order to differentiate these levels for medical screening or diagnosis. Several attempts to develop highly sensitive cholesterol biosensors have been described, but, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a self-powered cholesterol biosensor, i.e. a device delivering the analytical information from the current output of the energy of the biocatalytic conversion of cholesterol, without any external power source. This is particularly relevant to the development of inexpensive screening devices based on printed electronics.

We present two complementary bioelectrocatalytic platforms suitable for the fabrication of a self-powered biosensor. Both are based on cholesterol oxidase (ChOx) immobilisation in a sol-gel matrix, as illustrated in Fig. 1 [1]. Mediated biocatalytic cholesterol oxidation [2] was used as the anodic reaction and electrocatalytic reduction of hydrogen peroxide on Prussian Blue (PB) as the cathodic reaction. Due to a synergistic effect in the self-powered cholesterol biosensor, the analytical parameters of the overall device exceeded those of the individual component half-cells, yielding a sensitivity of 0.19 A M^-1 cm^-2 and a dynamic range that embraces the free cholesterol concentrations found in human blood.

Thus, we have demonstrated the novel concept of highly sensitive cholesterol determination using the first self-powered cholesterol biosensor. This configuration is particularly promising for incorporation in emerging plastic- and paper-based analytical instruments for decentralised diagnostics and mobile health.