Iranian Scientists Produce Glutamate Biosensor by Using Carbon Nanotubes

Iranian researchers from Sharif University of Technology succeeded in producing glutamate biosensor by using carbon nanotubes through photo-lithography method.

This electrode production method is a cost-effective and simple substitution for lithography methods.

Choosing electrode materials for the production of nano-electrode arrays generally plays a key role in the determination of measurement properties of the device. Carbon nanofibres and nanotubes have shown promising results in order to produce small nano-electrode biosensors by using electron beam lithography.

Researchers of the plan produced a glutamate biosensor based on carbon nanotubes with vertical arrangement by using photo-lithography in addition to carving by reactive ion etching (RIE) as a post-preparation stage for the substitution of electron beam lithography, and they compared its performance with that of the biosensor previously synthesized by the group.

Carbon nanotube nano-electrode array with vertical arrangement synthesized through the simple lithography method combined with RIE technique provides a cost-effective and simple replacement in comparison with electron beam lithography method in order to obtain electrode with an area of around 200 × 200 µm2.

The promising results identify the suggested electrode as an appropriate choice for the determination of a wide range of biological markers. In line with the rapid progress in sciences, the need for small measurement systems in various field of the new life arises. Nano-electrode array is considered as an appropriate choice at present as the technology to increase the size of analysis systems.

Results of the research have been published in June 2012 in Analytical Chemistry, vol 84, pp. 5932-5938.