Nonenzymatic glucose sensing using metal oxides

By Tian, Kun; Baskaran, Karthikeyan; Tiwari, Ashutosh
Published in Vacuum 2018

Abstract

The current status of commercial electrochemical glucose sensors relies on enzymes for quantitative sensing. The sensing performance of enzymatic glucose sensors depends on the stability and catalytic activity of enzymes which degrades over time. Therefore, recent research thrust in this area is on exploring the possibility of developing nonenzymatic glucose sensors using alternative materials that can catalyze the glucose oxidation reaction. Transition metal oxides have emerged as potential candidates for catalytic application in nonenzymatic glucose sensors. They are quite economical and can be easily synthesized in nanocrystalline state which is ideal for electrochemical sensor development. In this paper, we report the fabrication and characterization of nonenzymatic glucose sensors using three different metal oxides, Copper Oxide (CuO), Cobalt Oxide (Co3O4), Nickel Oxide (NiO). It was found that all three metal oxides demonstrate good glucose sensing capability, however, their performance varies due to their different electronic conductivity, electrochemical activity and catalytic behavior towards glucose. Among all three, CuO was found to exhibit the highest sensitivity and selectivity for glucose oxidation.

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