Home > Press > Researchers Create Method for More Sensitive Electrochemical Sensors: Findings could open up a new class of technologies with applications in medicine, chemistry, and engineering.
![]() |
Vinayak Dravid |
Abstract:
Graphene and related materials hold promise for the future of electrochemical sensors — detectors that measure the concentration of oxygen, toxic gases, and other substances — but many applications require greater sensitivity at lower detection ranges than scientists have been able to achieve.
A Northwestern University research team and partners in India have recently developed a new method for amplifying signals in graphene oxide-based electrochemical sensors through a process called "magneto-electrochemical immunoassay." The findings could open up a new class of technologies with applications in medicine, chemistry, and engineering.
Researchers from Northwestern's McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Northwestern International Institute for Nanotechnology (IIN), the Northwestern University Atomic and Nanoscale Characterization Experimental (NUANCE) Center, and the Institute for Microbial Technology (IMTECH)-India, a national laboratory of India, contributed to the research.
A paper about the work, "Enhancing Electrochemical Detection on Graphene Oxide-CNT Nanostructured Electrodes Using Magneto-Nanobioprobes," was published November 19 in Nature Scientific Reports.
Graphene-based nanocomposite films have recently been used as an effective sensing platform for the development of electrochemical sensors and biosensors because of their unique facile surface modification characteristics and high charge mobility.
The researchers' new concept combines the advantages carbon nanotubes and reduced graphene oxide together with electrochemical bursting of magnetic gold nanoparticles into a large number of metal ions.
High sensitivity was achieved by precisely designing the nanohybrid and correlating the available metal ions with analyte concentration. The researchers used tiny magnetic particles encapsulated in inert coating of silicon dioxide to make core-shell nanostructures with favorable magnetic properties of metallic iron while preventing them from oxidation or significant degradation. They were then coated with gold because of its chemical inertness and biocompatibility.
This novel immune-detection platform shows potential for rapid and sensitive screening of environmental pollutants or toxins in samples. Researchers reported the ultrahigh sensitivity of this method for a new generation of herbicide diuron and its analogues up to sub-picomolar concentration in standard water samples. The process also proved to be efficient and cost-effective: tens of thousands of screen-printed electrodes can be manufactured quite readily with low cost for such hybrid assay.
The paper's authors included Vinayak Dravid, professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern, a founding member of IIN, and director of the NUANCE Center; Gajendera Shekhawat, research associate professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern; Jinsong Wu, research assistant professor of materials science and engineering at Northwestern; and lead author Priyanka Sharma, Vijayender Bhalla, E. Senthil Prasad, and C. Raman Suri, all of the Institute of Microbial Technology, India.
The National Science Foundation NSF-IREE, NSF-ECCS, and NSF-OISE grant supported this work, with partial support from NIH CCNE program at Northwestern.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
Megan Fellman
847-491-3115
Northwestern University
Copyright © Northwestern University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Related News Press |
Chemistry
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
News and information
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Graphene/ Graphite
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Govt.-Legislation/Regulation/Funding/Policy
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Institute for Nanoscience hosts annual proposal planning meeting May 16th, 2025
Rice researchers harness gravity to create low-cost device for rapid cell analysis February 28th, 2025
Nanomedicine
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev researchers several steps closer to harnessing patient's own T-cells to fight off cancer June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Self-propelled protein-based nanomotors for enhanced cancer therapy by inducing ferroptosis June 6th, 2025
Sensors
Quantum engineers ‘squeeze’ laser frequency combs to make more sensitive gas sensors January 17th, 2025
Nanotechnology: Flexible biosensors with modular design November 8th, 2024
Discoveries
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Announcements
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Research partnerships
HKU physicists uncover hidden order in the quantum world through deconfined quantum critical points April 25th, 2025
SMART researchers pioneer first-of-its-kind nanosensor for real-time iron detection in plants February 28th, 2025
![]() |
||
![]() |
||
The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
![]() |
![]() |
||
Premium Products | ||
![]() |
||
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
![]() |
||
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
![]() |